The Dreamer
by Crazyeight
Summary: While relaxing, Takato opens his eyes to the strangest sight of all. And with it, comes a strange revelation... Sequel to 'Song of the Setting Sun'. RukatoJurato fic
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

The Dreamer

A Digimon Tamers Fic by Crazyeight

Takato breathed in a breath of fresh, spring air as he lay on the soft grass, the bright sun shining down on his face, his eyes closed against its light, and resting. Takato shifted on his spot, trying to find a more comfortable position, the action eliciting a light groan from his mouth. Soon enough, the young boy settled back down as he lazily lay on the ground. He didn't feel any shame over it though, as it was the sort of day to be lazy. The perfect time in fact; he couldn't have chosen a better day for just lying around and doing nothing…

A soft giggle from next to him reached Takato's ears and soon he found something forcing an object onto his face. His eyes snapping open in surprise, Takato's hands moved up and immediately struggled to remove the offending object. He couldn't clearly see what it was, as it obscured his vision, but by the small bits of light that poked through the small holes in it, and the slightly rough texture of its surface beneath his fingers, as well as its overall shape, Takato could tell that it was a hat of some sort.

Whatever it was that was keeping the hat on his face increased its force and squashed it down on him, earning a surprised and irritated squawk from Takato while a girlish giggle once again reached his ears, as though amused at his efforts. It also had a familiar sound to it, as though he should have recognized whoever it belonged to, but so caught up in his battle that he really didn't focus on it all that much. Finally, with one last surge of strength, Takato sat up and tore the item off his face, blinking at the shift in light as his eyes adjusted and looked down at what he now held in his hands. It was a hat, as he had guessed, but its appearance confused him. Its top, though slightly deformed from having been pushed onto his face, was rounded, and had a ring of flowers around it, sitting on a flat, wide brim. Takato looked at it in confusion for a moment when he heard the sound of giggling once more from next to him. Looking over to his left, Takato's eyes traced up a soft, flowing dress that had what looked like a pink apron tied to the front before moving up to find the identity of its wearer. For a second, Takato couldn't say anything as his eyes simply widened in surprise and his face heated up in embarrassment. Not in a million years would he have expected to see this sight. As a matter of fact, he expected to die first before… well, maybe not precisely_ that_ far but still. The rarity of the event that he was looking at before him was enough to give him pause and consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he had gone to the Great Beyond and just hadn't been aware of it. Probably wouldn't be that surprising since it usually took him a while to catch on to anything anyway, but that's beside the point.

A soft hand clasped gently around Takato's left as he continued to hold onto the owner's hat, a small smile curving upwards on the face of the girl that looked at him with a teasing, yet surprisingly loving, expression, fiery hair spilling downwards and just barely touching her shoulders while her familiar violet eyes sparkled, which only reinforced the possibility for Takato's belief that he was indeed dead.

How strange though that the sudden increase in his body temperature and heart rate told him otherwise.

Takato raised an eyebrow and cocked his head in confusion as he looked at the girl who sat next to him, completely caught off guard by what he was seeing.

"R-Rika?" Stammered Takato. The girl continued to smile at him.

"The one and only Gogglebrain," said the red haired girl in the dress. "Who'd you expect?"

Takato's mouth hung open in surprise for a moment before clicking shut. It certainly sounded like her, though if he were to answer his friend's question, he probably would have more expected that it was a Bakemon or something that was holding a flower hat over his face in a crude attempt to suffocate him rather than Rika. Well, actually she probably would do that, but… well… the thing was…

"R-Rika?" Stuttered Takato as he felt the heat in his face rise yet another few degrees. Rubbing the back of his head nervously, Takato pressed on, hoping that what courage he had wouldn't fail him in this moment of strangeness. "Um…"

_Man, how to say it?_

"…It's just that… uh…"

Rika tilted her head to the side, her hair swinging to the side as her face took on a questioning look. For some reason, Takato found her hair, no longer tied back in its traditional ponytail fascinating to watch.

"…You're in a dress."

There. He had said it. Now all that was left was for doomsday to rear its head.

Rika's eyes went from looking as though she were processing what she had just heard, to taking on a rather bemused expression, and then narrowing in what was most likely irritation. Crossing her arms, Rika turned away from the boy and gave a light _hmmph_.

"I thought I told you not to mention it, Gogglehead," the girl said rather crossly. Takato breathed a mental sigh of relief. At least now he knew that the Rika he knew hadn't totally taken leave of her senses, but the whole dress thing was a little bit odd. And disturbing. Very out of character for his friend. Maybe he could find out why she was dressed like this.

"Sorry," said Takato. "I… I guess I forgot. It's just… a little odd seeing you like this. I'm not used to it."

Rika glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, a small glint in them; one that Takato noticed and became alert to it.

"Doesn't sound like you're sorry enough," said Rika in a tone that sent a shiver down the boys spine. Rika sounded just a little bit more than just plain irritated now, though still a ways off from angry. Either way, it was more than enough reason for him to become cautious. If only he could remember how he got here, and why Rika was dressed like this.

"Um…" Takato's mind raced for a way to make it up to her, but due to the awkwardness of the situation, Takato couldn't think of a way to appease the fiery girl. It was just then that his eyes looked up at Rika's slightly turned face, and he noticed the amused glint in her eyes and the half hidden smirk that graced her features. Hit by a sense of déjà vu, Takato realized something.

"Hey! You're messing with my head, aren't you?"

Rika's smirk became playful.

"Guilty," she said as she turned once more to fully face him. "But I don't want to hear another word about this dress, got it? My Mom picked it out for me today and… er…"

"Oh," said Takato, still not really understanding any of what was going on, but despite the amount of questions that filled his mind right now, he was willing to go along with it. He felt a strange sensation of…_ something_. Happiness? Contentment? Whatever it was that he was feeling it left him feeling safe and fulfilled for some reason. But there was something else that seemed off, something that bothered him slightly.

Rika continued on.

"Mom picked this out after I told her about… well, what we were doing today and… hey! Are you listening to me?"

Takato blinked at the girl.

"Ah! Um… yeah! Sure! It's just…" Takato took a look around. "… I was just wondering where Guilmon is…"

Rika sighed in exasperation and, from Takato's point of view, was resisting the desire to roll her eyes. Raising one hand and placing it on Takato's chest, she pushed him down to the ground.

"Hey!"

"Takato. Jeri is looking after Dino-boy right now. You know that he's in good hands… well, I'd say that he would be if the moron twins didn't show up, but you never know. Besides. You _promised_, and let me emphasize that word for you _Gogglehead_," Rika took a moment to flick the boy's nose, earning a blush out of the goggle-wearing Tamer. "You _promised_ that you were going to take it easy today. And believe me Takato, that's exactly what you're going to do, even if I have to tie you to a tree. _Got it_?"

Takato scratched his head, now completely and utterly confused about the nature of this bizarre outing that he was on. Since when had he promised to take it easy? And for what reason? And why were Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta willing to keep an eye on Guilmon so that he could be alone… with… Rika?

"Oookay…" Takato mentally shook his head. By the looks and sounds of it, he and Rika were…

_Nah. Couldn't be. That wouldn't happen. __**Especially**__ not with Rika and me. She'd probably be more likely to punch me out than to… er… _

Suddenly, Rika's arms folded around Takato and she pulled him closer, and once more Takato felt himself blush against his will. There was something about this that seemed so off. So strange. So…

But before Takato could continue with his list of adjectives, Rika leaned forward and did something that completely and totally left him speechless. If he had thought that it would be a million years before he ever saw Rika wearing a dress, he would have tacked on a few more zeroes to this action. Most especially between him and her.

Rika's lips touched briefly on the corner of his own, sending a small feeling of an electrical current running through his body, and he stared at Rika incredulously as the temperature around him skyrocketed.

"Rika…" Takato whispered softly, and the girl smiled gently at him, a tenderness on her face that he rarely saw, and didn't think that he would ever see directed at him especially.

His last vision of the scene, before things began to grow dark, was that of Rika's face, still smiling at him, and all he could do was think about how special, and beautiful it looked to him just then…

* * *

Takato shifted beneath the blankets on his bed while next to him, Guilmon snored loudly. A small smile curved on his face as he turned onto his side, the light of the rising sun falling upon his face and causing the boy to finally stir. Opening his eyes tentatively, and then closing them against the sunlight, Takato sat up and yawned before taking a look around him. 

_It was all just a dream_, thought Takato as he took in the familiar setting of his room.

"Great," muttered Takato as he rubbed at his eyes sleepily. "The last thing I need is to be dreaming about Rika again. She wasn't happy the first time when I told her about it and now…" Takato shook his head. There was a lot about that first dream that he hadn't understood, and now this second one didn't make any more sense. In fact, it only confused things even more. At least the first time around he thought that it was just to awaken him to his destiny, but now? And why like that? Takato touched his fingers to the corner of his lips where the Rika in his dream had kissed him. He hadn't thought of Rika like that in all the time that he had known her. He admired her skills and talent as a Tamer, and the air of professionalism that she carried whenever he saw her, but this? In a dress? It just didn't make sense!

_Well, who said that dreams had to make sense?_ The Tamer thought as he scratched his head and dragged himself out of bed, climbing carefully down the ladder and set himself down on the floor. He was already wide-awake, so there wasn't much reason to stay in bed at this moment. Besides, he just felt the need to get out and clear his head. Opening up the door to his balcony, Takato stepped out and took a look outside, taking note of his father as he fidgeted with a crate. Takato breathed in the morning air, calming himself from the odd, and somewhat frightening, dream. It was already fading to him, and he could begin forgetting about it now. And he'd better. He didn't much like the idea of having something slip out while he was hanging out with her, and he knew that she wouldn't react well to it. If he wasn't careful, she just might finally give him a send off with her fist (the fact that she hadn't already done so kept surprising him to no end, but he wasn't about to argue with a good thing). Sighing nervously, Takato turned around and began to head back into his room when a voice hailed him from down on the street, causing him to freeze on the spot and his face to pale before turning into a slightly crimson color.

"HEY! GOGGLEHEAD!"

Quickly turning around, Takato found Rika, _not _wearing a dress but instead her usual attire, standing side by side with Henry as the half-Chinese Tamer waved at him from the corner of his home, his partner, Terriermon, doing likewise with one of his elongated ears as the little rabbit like digimon hailed him from his spot on Henry's shoulder.

"HEY, TAKATOMON! C'MON DOWN AND BRING GUILMON WITH YOU! IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT! THOUGH IF YOU DON'T MIND, WOULD YOU AT LEAST WEAR SOMETHING _OTHER_ THAN YOUR PAJAMAS? IT'S EMBARRASSING ENOUGH TO BE SEEN WITH YOU IN PUBLIC AS IT IS!"

"Terriermon…" began Henry in exasperation, and Rika shot the little Rookie with a death glare before the two Tamers looked back up to Takato, who was still looking at them in surprise.

"We'll be waiting for you in the Bakery," called up Henry and Takato looked over at his father, who had been listening to the entire thing.

"You can go," said Takahiro Matsuki with a nod and a smile. "Just remember that your mother wants you back in the afternoon to man the cash register."

"Thanks Dad," replied Takato as he took one last look at his friends, his eyes locking with Rika's for a moment, what felt like too long of a pause to him, before he turned and all but leapt into his room, grabbing at a random pair of clothes on the floor (that conveniently looked like his regular blue hoody and tan pants) and began to tug them on. He paused with the struggle of his hoody shirt as a creaking sound reached his ears. Turning, eyebrows raised in confusion, he saw…

"AHHH! NO! GUILMON, DON'T!"

"WHEE-HEE!"

Before Takato knew it, his large, crimson dinosaur leapt off his bed and crushed Takato beneath his weight, while down below, Takato's mother yelled up to him that he and Guilmon had better not be destroying the room up there for what had to be the hundredth time since allowing Guilmon to live with them.

* * *

Rika and Henry exchanged glances as the sounds of the chaos erupted from the room, wondering if Takato and Guilmon, were alright, but eventually decided that they would be okay, if the continued amount of noise emerging from the goggle-wearing Tamer's room was any indication, that and Takahiro's barely restrained laughter. 

"He's a basket case," said Henry with a light, but worried, grin.

"Got that right," said Rika as she looked up at the boy's room with a slightly embarrassed look on her face, though the small smile that she wore told the other Tamer that she wasn't at all unhappy with the situation. Henry headed towards the Bakery's entrance and opened the door, turning to see that Rika hadn't yet moved from her spot, still looking up at Takato's balcony.

"Rika?" Henry asked, looking a little confused.

"Huh?" Rika snapped out of her apparent gaze, and then, with one last look, headed into the Bakery, her eyes seemingly thoughtful.

"Oookay…" began Terriermon, but Henry rapped his knuckles on his partner's head.

"Not now Terriermon."

"Ohhh…"

* * *

With a sigh, Takato tied his shoes while Guilmon pranced happily in front of his bedroom door, reminding him a little of a dog (which sort of surprised him in a way, since his mother hadn't allowed him to keep such an animal, or any other animal for that matter, and now here he was with a digital dinosaur). Finishing with the last lace, Takato grabbed his cards, D-Arc, and goggles, and after putting each of them in their accustomed places, Takato threw open the door and watched Guilmon in turn throw himself down the stairs that led to the Bakery part of his families home. Takato followed a bit more slowly as he closed the door behind him, a fragment of his dream about Rika flashing through his mind as he did so. The last part that showed her smiling. She had been smiling up at him like that right before he went back into his room, though without the dress and hair up in its usual ponytail. Dismissing the dream with a sigh, Takato went down the stairs after his friend, steeling himself for the day that was about to begin. 

_Today is going to be an interesting day,_ thought Takato.

* * *

A/N: I got this idea late last night (almost at midnight in fact), and it was something that I just had to get down, mostly because I could see it so clearly in my mind. A weird idea to be sure, and will probably remain as a one-shot (though it's sitting on the backburner for now on that possibility). What happens next, if anything, I don't know, but I still have a couple other projects to finish as it is before tacking on another to the already long list. Hoped you liked this fic. Later. 

-Crazyeight

* * *

7 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: After two months of focusing almost exclusively on 'Hazard's Sorrow' I felt the need for a pleasant change of pace, preferably one that didn't include digimon fighting or intense emotional anguish, so I decided to settle on a nice semi-friendship/romance type fic to help me get back into my groove. This story seemed like the right choice to get the ball rolling again, so without further ado, I present to you the second chapter of 'The Dreamer', set sometime after the events of 'Song of the Setting Sun'. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

The Dreamer

Chapter: 2

The sound of birds chirping as they sang their songs and fluttered through the air could be distinctly heard in the quiet that followed. Off to the side, a red colored dinosaur splashed around in a nearby birdbath, moaning in disappointment at the few birds that had taken up solace there flew away, disturbed by his presence. Not to be deterred however, the dinosaur, known as Guilmon to his friends and allies, followed them, water dripping from his claws as he laughed childishly, testing the air with his nostrils and looking around with his wide, golden eyes, almost as though he were expecting something.

_Calumon?_ Thought Guilmon as he once again sniffed the air, before shrugging it off as an old scent, a little disappointed that the excitable cream-colored digimon was not in the area. Oh well. It wasn't as though life wasn't fun without him. He had plenty to do! He had squirrels and birds to chase, lots of bread to eat, his Tamer and his friends to play with…

Speaking of whom, Guilmon looked over at the three children plus one Terriermon that sat over on a nearby bench… but something was wrong. Guilmon cocked his head to one side. All four of them seemed to have been rendered speechless by something… but what? Judging by the look of discomfort and increasing redness in one boy's face, that of his Tamer, Takato, it had something to do with him. No surprise there, Takato was always doing something that got him embarrassed, but this time… this time something seemed to be a little bit _different_ about his reaction. His gaze was more focused on the red haired girl that sat in front of him, a fearful look in his eyes as though he were contemplating trying to make a break for it but worried that the girl, Rika, would sic her partner Renamon on him for doing so. Behind Takato, his other two friends, Henry Wong and his mischievous partner Terriermon dangling off his shoulder (a little more precariously then usual) stood, looking more than a little surprised at whatever it was that had just occurred. Terriermon's eyes were bulging in their sockets, his mouth agape and for once, silent, though it was certainly not from lack of trying. Henry himself looked a little stunned, and a nervous, worried smile played at the corner of his mouth as he tried to find the appropriate words to say and failed. And Rika…

Guilmon had seen her like this before, when they had been in the digital world and about to face the Sovereign digimon Zhuqiaomon, and they were in that transportation bubble, being taken to his castle.

_Uh oh…_ thought Guilmon, beginning to trot over to the scene, already starting to become worried about his Tamer's future health.

Rika just stared at Takato, eyes slightly wide in surprise before looking down at the ground in front of her, her mouth working as she tried to find a response before looking back up at Takato. The boy's face reddened even more and his mouth twitched nervously in a rather eerie imitation of his dark haired friend behind him.

"I don't… did you just…?" The girl stammered out, disbelief plainly evident in her voice.

"Uh…" Takato resisted the urge to inch backwards. He really didn't know what to do here. If he said the wrong thing she could explode! And then…

For some reason he was having flashbacks to that time when Rika had threatened to _send him to to dreamland for good_.

_I just hope that she goes easy on me,_ thought Takato as a bead of sweat made its way down his face.

"…Sorry?"

There was a lull in the conversation, during which Takato grew even more uncomfortable, feeling an all to familiar heat creeping from his face and out to his ears. Fortunately Rika had taken a moment to look down in front of her again, still trying to grasp what had just happened. Finally, Terriermon, upon finding his voice, spoke up.

"That's a heck of a thing to say at a time like this… but then again, you _are _a Gogglehead…"

Henry groaned, the sound as familiar to the Tamers as Guilmon's old home, and with it came the expected response, as predictable as thunder following lightning during a storm.

"Terriermon…"

"What? It's the truth!"

"Gotta agree with Rabbitmon on this one," admitted Rika reluctantly as she eyed Takato carefully with her penetrating gaze. The boy blushed even further.

"Oohg…" blanched Terriermon. "That's not a good sign… not like the first one was any better though…"

Rika chuckled lightly as a small smile forced its way onto her face.

"Well it's not like this sort of thing happens everyday," said Henry with a light laugh.

Guilmon cocked his head in confusion. Just what was going on here? He had thought that Takato had done something to make Rika angry but now…

Before Guilmon could even post a question on the topic, Terriermon provided the answer with his usual blunt attitude.

"Oh c'mon! Who apologizes for winning at a game of cards? I don't know what's worse… the fact that it was _Takatomon_ here who finally did the deed that up 'till now no one but Ryo could pull off, or that he did it when he wasn't really paying attention to what was going on? Takato… I hope that you had your last will and testament made out… do I get to have all of your stuff when she kills you?"

"Ahhhh…"

Henry chuckled as he ground his knuckles into his partner's head.

"Knock it off Terriermon. I'm sure that Rika's not going to go ballistic on him."

"Are we talking about the same person here?"

"And _why_ are we still talking about it?" Demanded Rika, a little heat making itself known in her voice as she collected her cards and began shuffling them together. "I mean it's not like it's that big of a deal…"

Terriermon's mouth dropped open once more in surprise, a surprise that was equally shared by Takato as well.

"Huh? Wha…?"

"All right. Who are you and what have you done with the real Rika?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Takato that?" Asked Rika, fixing the little dog-bunny on Henry's shoulder with a hard look. "This is probably the first time that I've seen him play _well_, and he wasn't even paying attention! You wanna clue me in on how _that's _possible Gogglehead"

Takato blushed lightly as the girl fixed her gaze on him, eyes narrowing, though fortunately for his nerves her gaze wasn't of the angry kind, instead being more curious and considering.

Takato laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head in agitation.

"Um… luck of the draw?"

Rika _hmmphed_ at that as she set her deck down on the ground and began drawing a new hand, signaling to Takato that she wanted a rematch. His heart beating a little quickly from nerves Takato clumsily scooped up his cards and began to follow his friend's example.

"Luck of the draw or not," Rika continued. "There's no way that you could have won that match with the way that you were zoning out. You didn't even react when I played that Control Spire card on you!"

"Yeah," piped in Terriermon. "Henry had to get your attention for that."

"They do have a point," said Henry. "You did look like you had something on your mind…"

"Hey! Come on you guys! It's not like it's that big of a deal… it's just a card game…"

"That's a rather ironic thing of you to say," said Rika dourly as she laid down a Renamon card, her standard opening move.

"Okay, yeah. That was a rather dumb thing of me to say, but aren't you guys taking this a little too seriously?"

"I don't know," said Terriermon as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that you beating the Digimon Queen and not even realizing it qualifies as a sign of the apocalypse…"

"Hey! Are we going to play or not? I've been waiting for him to make his move already and with you blabbering he's even more distracted than earlier…!"

Before Rika could finish what she was saying her cell phone suddenly broke into the conversation with a sharp ring. With a mild look of irritation, the red haired girl dug into her pocket and took it out, hitting the _answer _button as she brought it up to her ear.

"Hi Grandma… yeah, I'm still at the park with my friends…" Rika paused as she took in what her grandmother said on the other end before nodding, a small smile appearing on her face as she did so. "Okay. I understand. I'll be there. Thanks Grandma."

Henry, Takato, Guilmon, and Terriermon all exchanged glances at Rika hung up her phone and began to collect her cards together again.

"Um… Rika? What's…?"

"Sorry boys, but I gotta go. My mom was supposed to come back early today and I wanted my Grandma to give me a heads up so that I could meet her. We'll have to continue this later."

And with that, Rika got to her feet, placing her Digimon cards back in her card holder and, surprisingly reached over to ruffle Takato's hair before taking off, leaving her two friends behind with surprised looks on their faces as she waved a quick goodbye, the shadow of Renamon appearing and disappearing behind her as she went.

"See ya later Gogglehead," called out Rika as she ran down the path.

Henry, Takato, Guilmon and Terriermon just stared at the path that Rika had left on as they let this sudden turn of events sink in. With a small, humorous smile, Henry looked over at Takato, who presently had a light red color decorating his cheeks.

"Well Takato," joked the boy casually. "Sounds like you just got yourself a date."

"Ah… uh…" Takato stuttered as his cheeks adopted an even darker color of red to them.

Henry and Terriermon burst out laughing, while Guilmon just cocked his head in confusion, not at all understanding what it was that was going on.

"Um… I don't get it. Is Takato going to see the cherry blossoms like he did with Jeri that one time?"

"Guilmon…" said Terriermon in between giggles and snorts of laughter. "First, the cherry blossoms were last week. And I don't think that you could call that last time a date since we all wound up getting involved in it. Second, I don't think that that was what Rika was referring to when she said _'see ya later'_. Henry and I were just having some fun at Takatomon's expense, that's all."

Terriermon then assumed a thoughtful look as he once again tapped his chin.

"But now that you mention it, Rika has been acting kinda funny since that day. _Nicer_ I guess you could say, but maybe that's just my imagination…"

"Well, it is Rika that we're talking about," chuckled Henry. "I haven't seen much difference in her personality, but with her you never know."

Henry glanced over at Takato, and his face softened.

"Hey Takato. You okay?"

Takato, who looked like he had been lost in thought suddenly jolted to attention.

"Ah! Huh? Oh… sorry. Heh, heh… um… Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking you know?"

"Thinking about anything in particular?"

Takato looked away from Henry. Actually, truth be told he had been a little bit distracted today. Not too much to be easily noticeable until he had gotten into his card match with Rika (and how it was that he had been able to walk away for once with a win and still live was something that he still wondered about), but he had been drifting. A fair majority of his thoughts had been drawn back to that dream that he had had this morning… the one where he and Rika were…

A slight blush once again appeared on his face as he remembered the kiss that the dream Rika had given him, but fortunately it was so light that his friends didn't notice. Why did this dream bother him? It was just a stupid dream right? A little bit odd though since it had involved Rika, but after last week…

_"You promised the sunset we'd always, always be together…"_

Takato's blush deepened a little as he remembered that moment in the park where she had sung her song to him, and then when they had looked into each other's eyes…

"Hey! Takatomon!" Cried out Terriermon as he waved an ear in front of the boy's face, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Ahhh!"

"It's about time!" Said Terriermon with a huff. "You were blanking out on us again!"

"Is Takato sick?" Asked Guilmon worriedly as he walked up and sniffed his Tamer.

"Um… I'm fine Guilmon… I was just…"

"Thinking," interrupted Terriermon. "We know. You've been doing that a lot today. What's up with you? I haven't seen you like this since last week when you took Jeri out to watch the Cherry Blossoms… of course with the rest of us there it's not like that went well…"

"Terriermon…" grumbled Henry as he noted that Takato's face fell a little at the memory, and the increased blush that showed up on his face as well.

"Well, you have to admit that he was a little _out there_ then too in some places. Sheesh. You'd almost think that he was worried that she was going to elope somewhere with you or Kazu or something…"

Henry rolled his eyes and groaned in exasperation. Was there _no end_ to the demented ideas that Terriermon kept letting out of the dark abyss that he called _his mind_?

_Seriously, where does he come up with these things?_

"Come on Takato," said Henry as he got to his feet and began to help Takato gather up his cards. "Let's go down to my place and hang out there for a bit. My dad bought the new Digimon computer game today and I was thinking about trying it out. What do you say?"

Takato looked up at the half Chinese Tamer, contemplating his offer before giving him a wide smile and patting Guilmon on the head.

"Sure," the boy said softly.

As the two friends finished packing away their cards and began to walk down the streets, Terriermon hopped up onto Henry's head and smiled goofily at Takato.

"And maybe afterwards you can give Jeri a call so that she can help you on _your _date with Rika like Rika did for her last week…"

Takato's face reddened once again, protesting that there wasn't anything between them while, with a light chuckle, Henry reached up and knocked Terriermon on the side of his head.

"Ow! Henry!"

"Play nice Terriermon… or Nurse Suzie comes out to play today."

"I'll be shutting up now…"

Takato and Henry both burst out laughing as they walked down the park's path.

* * *

6 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

The Dreamer

Chapter: 3

Renamon phased in and out of view as she followed her partner through the paths of the park, hopping from tree branch to tree branch until they began to enter the area of the city. Leaping up to the nearest rooftop Renamon paused a moment to watch Rika begin to lose herself in the crowd of people as she made her way home to meet her mother, a small smile on her face as she slowed to a walk, but still keeping a rapid movement to her pace. Renamon smiled as well as her gaze followed the red haired girl through the crowd. For the past few days, ever since the day where she and the rest of the Tamers that she occasionally referred to as _the goof troupe_ had hung out together during the Hanami celebration, she had been… _different._ Renamon, to borrow a human saying, couldn't quite put her finger on it but Rika had been… _lighter_ she guessed she could say. Happier. Not that she hadn't been before, especially after she had fully accepted Renamon as her friend as well as her partner back when their partnership had begun, but lately there had been a warm glow in her eyes and an increased willingness to lower her standards and let herself go, acting a little more childishly then normal, and as a result creating a strange amalgamation of the Rika that she knew and a Rika that befitted a much younger child. The change was subtle, barely noticeable from anyone else's perspective except in certain cases such as when last week she and the other Tamers had involved themselves in a game of Frisbee…

That had been where it all began actually. The Hanami celebration from last week, or Cherry Blossom Watching as it is more commonly known. She hadn't been too thrilled to begin with, and with good reason. Jeri asking her to hang out with her and Takato, which had apparently been a cover for Jeri's nervousness around the boy was certainly not the highlight of her day as it made her feel like she was a third wheel and a babysitter as well. Hooking up with Henry and his family provided a good way to escape those feelings and not feel as though she were intruding on anything, but a little teasing from Jeri had brought some memories to the surface, memories from when Takato had asked the fiery Tamer to go Cherry Blossom Watching with him on the day of her birthday, shortly before the whole Parasimon fiasco. All of this was a month in the past, but being reminded of it, by an unknowing Jeri no less, was a little disconcerting for Rika, who normally didn't care about such things. Throughout the course of the day Rika had had bouts with her emotions, wondering as to why she had been upset by the situation and what it was that she felt for the goggle-wearing boy that was her friend, while paradoxically avoiding the question outright, fearing that resolving the issue might harm what her two friends, Jeri and Takato had together. In the end, all those emotions served as fuel that allowed her to blow off some steam during the last Frisbee game of the day between the Tamers, and she had thrown herself into it with an abandon that was quite unlike her, no longer caring in the least about her worries or her feelings and all of her inhibitions were let go, where they blew away in Shinjuku's breeze.

Afterwards things had settled down and more or less returned to normal, just as they were before that day of Hanami. Things had been altered yes, but not overly so. Friendships had remained as they were prior to that day, but there were some differences, and Rika's change in attitude was one of them. Her present, brighter attitude was more than enough, for the moment anyway, to overshadow everything else that had occurred on that day.

Renamon's eyes narrowed as she remembered some of the things that had gone on that day, some things that Rika had not been made aware of. While she didn't think it was anything serious, the realm of emotions, she had found out ever since meeting up with Rika, was chaotic enough to blow things out of proportion. Renamon's conversation with Jeri at Guilmon's hut for example…

Renamon pushed those thoughts out of the way, determined to not think about them for the time being. True, Jeri had some questions, just questions that needed to be asked and deserved answers to, and even Renamon had approached Takato about them… but _should_ they have been asked? Especially since they had no answer that the goggle-wearing Tamer could easily supply since he knew so little about the subject himself?

Not for the first time, Renamon's thoughts went back to the memory of her asking Takato about his dream. She had told him that at some point they should discuss the subject, as it was one of the few mysteries from their adventures that hadn't been explained with any detail, or even a clue as to why or how it happened. But was it really worth it? When Jeri had heard about it from her eavesdropping on Rika and Renamon's conversation it had shaken her, and had left her with many doubts in regards to her relationship with Takato. As Renamon recalled from her own discussion with the puppet-loving girl, the word _destiny_ had figured quite big in her doubts. No doubt there were others to go along with it but that one on its own was enough to sow the seeds within her mind and heart, and that troubled the vulpine digimon.

With a flick of her tail, Renamon phased out of view as she continued to follow her Tamer while in her heart the hope that things would work out burned brightly. Perhaps a visit to Jeri's home at some point was called for to see what she still thought of the matter…

* * *

Rika made her way down the streets of Shinjuku, a small smile on her face as she cast her mind on the winds of thought and let them take her where they will. She thought about her mother and her return home from a trip overseas dealing with the latest fashion designs. She had wanted to take Rika along with her, and the feeling was mutual on her part as well (though she still maintained a high distaste for the world of fashion and all of its glamour), but Rika's schedule with school combined with her own duties as a Tamer did not really allow for much in the way of such extended mother/daughter bonding. They had grown closer since the events of the D-Reaper's invasion of the real world, and tried to at least do something together as a family once a week. Rika had come to enjoy those moments with her mother as they allowed them to learn some things about each other that they hadn't been able to prior to her digimon adventure. Her mother had come a long way from the woman who had refused to accept the fact that Rika was her own person with her own tastes, and had even surprised her daughter on a few occasions, revealing an inner strength, fortitude, and talents that the red haired Tamer hadn't thought her capable of, or even suspected existed. A pleasant surprise to be sure, and one that she appreciated as it allowed her to grow closer to her family, just as she had grown closer to Renamon and afterwards Takato, Henry, Jeri… heck, even Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo, even if the first two annoyed her to the extreme, but they were her friends nonetheless. 

Friends.

The word made Rika's smile grow wider as she thought about the group of Tamers that she had grown to call _friends_ during the past year that she had known them. Funny as she thought about it once again, as she had done multiple times in the past. They were certainly an odd bunch that was for sure. Here and there, there were a couple who almost passed for what qualified as _normal_ among them, but for the most part they were a rarity. Or perhaps she had judged them too hard on first meeting them, but it's not like her remarks to their character weren't well earned, especially the one who was their _unofficial _leader…

Rika's eyes became more thoughtful as she thought about the Tamer that she had called _Gogglehead_ on their first meeting, and her smile transformed into what passed for a mischievous grin. She had to admit, he had surprised her today with his victory. Not that she believed that there was much to it that was special, after all, sooner or later anyone got lucky (just like a certain Legendary Tamer did she maintained though there was no denying his skill when it came to the Digimon Card game) and Takato, against all odds and in spite of being distracted (more so than usual anyway) had walked away with victory. And oddly… she didn't mind all that much. Sure, she had wanted a rematch, but it didn't feel the same way that it did when Ryo had beaten her shortly before his jaunt into the digital world. With Ryo she had started out being angry with the Legendary Tamer for the way he had beaten her, the way he acted and, in her eyes, had _flaunted_ his skills, laughing and joking his way through their match with such ease that she hadn't believed that he actually took her seriously. Of course, that was all part of his strategy. His act had thrown her off, irritated her to the utmost with his teasing. Afterwards she had seen him as a challenge to surmount, something to aspire for and she trained herself vigorously for their next encounter, only to be disappointed the next year when he hadn't shown up the next year.

She had long since gotten over that disappointment of course. She understood that being trapped in the digital world had a way of getting in the way of things, even if she hadn't been as understanding as she should have been upon their second meeting. All the anger that she had felt then towards the Legendary Tamer had long since become a friendly sort of rivalry, and she still saw him as a challenge that needed to be overcome, and she respected him though she was loathe to admit it. With Takato though…

Rika's eyes flashed in amusement as she remembered the look on his face when they had both realized what had happened and she felt her grin grow as a feeling of mild surge of excitement race through her body at the thought of Takato getting flushed and worried that she was going to pound him into the ground for winning for once against the famed _Digimon Queen_, or better yet, have Renamon do it for her. That look of a cornered animal brought back memories from last week when he had walked in on her singing in the middle of the park. He had thought that she was going to beat him up then… well, he hadn't _said_ it but she knew that he was thinking it. When it came to maintaining a poker face, Takato failed rather miserably, even when he made an effort to hide something you knew it in the way he talked, walked, and smiled, every motion and word jerking with the kind of nervousness that screamed _'I know a secret'_. It wasn't that he couldn't keep a secret, as he could when the situation warranted, but when the situation didn't and someone, such as herself, put pressure on him…

Rika had to wonder just how it was that he had kept Guilmon a secret from his parents for as long as he did.

_Stupid Gogglehead,_ thought Rika as amusement danced in her eyes, the thought almost as traditional as the use of goggles in the digimon TV show. She hadn't thought much about the kid before, and had looked down on him at the beginning of their relationship, but like herself that had changed as time progressed. She certainly thought of him more fondly than she ever cared to admit in the past that was for sure, especially after last week…

Rika's eyes softened as she remembered that moment in the park when they had taken a break on a bench in the same place that he had caught her singing in the day before. She had sung for him then as well, when he had asked, a rather surprising thing to do she had felt, and she knew that Takato was just as surprised as she had been, and even afraid of how she would respond to such a request, which was one reason why she had sung her song for him to begin with, if only to show him that she valued his friendship. And then, when they had looked into each other's eyes…

She wasn't blind to the subtle changes and alterations that had gone on in between the two of them that had had them progress from being mortal enemies, to acquaintances, and finally to friends. It was hard _not_ to notice since they were about as opposite as anyone could get. A goofy kid who had as hard a time keeping his balance and not tripping over his own shadow as he did keeping secrets and a girl who carried herself with a cool air of professionalism that was as natural as breathing, who was good at what she did and knew it too. Grouchy on occasion, sometimes cynical in contrast to Takato's almost constant smiles and child like mentality, and she was sometimes frustrated by it just as she could be amused by it at the same time. Opposites and yet they were friends, friends in both her mind and thoughts.

And yet, after last week she had found her thoughts drifting to him more and more. Not enough to be really noticeable, but they were there. Little things really, such as how easily he got flustered, and the way he looked when he got embarrassed or worried, no matter how small the problem was or what it was. It did annoy her sometimes but that was just how he was just like she couldn't help how she was. She imagined that he had his fair share of grievances with her too, though she doubted that he'd ever admit them to her face, just like she didn't directly ask herself why her thoughts were drifting to him more than they used to. She didn't want to entertain the possibility that she was developing a crush on the Gogglehead, but the memory from last week when she had walked him home and sung her song for him kept coming to mind often enough to make her wonder about it, but every time it did she would disregard it, thinking it to be nothing more than a trip down memory lane. And then, with that said the memory of her sitting with the boy would return, one arm wrapped around his shoulder as they both looked into the other's eyes, the last few words of her song tapering off in the fading light of the sunset, and a warm sensation similar to what she had experienced then would return, and as a smile crept across her face, she would wonder.

As the red headed girl made her way down the winding streets that led to her home, intent on meeting up with her mother and spending some time with her before the day was out and life demanded that they part ways again for a short while, the memory of that day in the park hung there, an unspoken presence in the girl's mind.

And, almost unknowingly, she smiled at it.

* * *

A/N: Eh. Not too much going on at this point, just trying to find a plot right now and get a hold on some of the character's thought processes as I progress through the fic, so I'd say that this was probably more filler than anything else. Takato's will certainly be something of a challenge, one that I'm looking forward to working with but at the present I have only a few scenes planned with little connection to each other, though they should prove to have their own measure of amusement and development, though there is one scene around the end that I'm thinking on, but have to think carefully about how to approach it. Until then I'll see where this goes for now. 'Till next time then. Later. 

-Crazyeight

* * *

5 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

The Dreamer

Chapter: 4

The sun dipped a little closer towards the horizon as the day wore on. The sound of buttons being pressed rang quietly through the air as Takato Matsuki opened the cash register with a _ding_. Money exchanged hands as well as a bag filled with that delectable delicacy known as _Guilmon Bread_ and soon enough another satisfied customer left the Matsuki Bakery.

"Thanks," called out Takato cheerfully as he waved goodbye. "Come again."

Once the customer was gone Takato took a moment to stretch, knuckling his back as he did so, faintly wondering how it was that his parents could stand to do this sort of thing for an entire day and not complain about it once. All that standing around, pressing buttons on the cash register, counting of Yen to make sure that someone wasn't trying to shortchange him…

_Years of practice I guess,_ thought Takato with a dry chuckle as he felt something in his back make a _popping_ noise and he relaxed. _Of course, if my parents let me handle the cash register more often I'd probably be as used to it as they are, but they're more experienced with stuff like this anyway. _

Well, he was young anyway, and still had some time to go before his parents had him assuming more of the Bakery's duties (provided that he didn't find a part time job somewhere else first). Plenty of time to get used to this job, right?

_Provided that I don't put a hole in the floor for standing on it for too long,_ thought the brunette Tamer as he took a look outside the Bakery's window, watching Guilmon wave a piece of the bakery's famous bread modeled after him and prancing around excitedly. Through the window Takato heard the crimson dino singing what everyone now called _the Guilmon Bread Song_, going on and on about the _loaf of bread that was shaped like his head_. A cute sight to be sure (Takato laughed underneath his breath at the word _cute_, remembering the time when he had first introduced Jeri to Guilmon), and Guilmon certainly did a good enough job at attracting customers as a fair number of them thought that he was just a kid wearing a costume, and those who knew better had gotten used to the presence of the digital dinosaur. As he didn't cause any trouble beyond acting goofy (or smashing buildings in a fight with a wild digimon) and got along superbly with children, adults had found themselves capable of treating him like he was a normal, regular part of everyday life in Shinjuku. Good thing too. Otherwise business would have been really bad if people reacted to Guilmon the way that Takato's mother had when she first met him.

Shifting his gaze over to the clock that sat on the wall adjacent to the cash register Takato sighed and rubbed a hand over the bandana that held his hair back. It was now a little bit past one O'clock in the afternoon, approximately two hours after he had left Henry's apartment to help his parents around the Bakery, and about five hours since his historic moment in the park where he had accidentally beat his friend Rika, the Digimon Queen at a game that she had shown herself time and time again to be his superior at. A little surprising to be sure, but then everyone got lucky sooner or later. Of course, this luck didn't translate very well when Henry allowed him to try out his new digimon computer game. Three levels in, only recently evolved to Champion and his Greymon got pulverized by a rampaging herd of Mammothmon.

_"I knew that your luck was just too good to last Takatomon,"_ he remembered Terriermon quipping to him as his Greymon died a rather oddly cute death before dispersing in an explosion of data shards. _"I'm just glad that it ran out here and not on the actual battlefield. I'd hate to think what would happen then."_

_"Terriermon…"_

Takato smiled at the memory as he rung up yet another customer and bid them good day.

_Of course after that he wouldn't stop talking about that game I had with Rika…_

"Hey Takato!"

Blinking, Takato looked over to his left and saw his father entering the shop section of the bakery and smiled at him.

"What's up?"

Takahiro grinned at his son.

"Nothing much. Just thought that I'd relieve you so that you could get yourself something to eat. Afterwards your mom wants you in the kitchen to help out with the bread dough."

"Sure," said Takato as a relieved look crossed his face. "I could use a break…"

"Yeah, well, don't let your mother hear that from you when you go back there, otherwise she'll just put you back to work."

Though Takahiro sounded serious, the smirk on his face told the boy that he was joking about what he said. Well, mostly. They both knew Mei Matsuki well enough to believe that she just might very well do something of that sort.

"I'll try not to," said Takato with a light laugh as he made his way through the entrance to the back of the bakery and into the kitchen, taking off his hairnet as he did so and breathing a sigh of relief. Upon entering the kitchen, his mother greeted Takato with a cheerful smile and directed him to the lunch that she had fixed for him and had placed on the table counter, reminding him to eat it in the dining room and to not get any food on the floor.

"Yes Mom," said Takato as he took his meal and exited the Bakery section of his home and headed for the dining area. Upon entering the dining room Takato pulled back a chair and sat down, picking up his chopsticks and digging into the rice portion of his food and began chewing it over thoughtfully, letting his mind drift through the day's events and casting his eyes about the room. Eventually his gaze settled on his parent's calendar, marking the month and day of the year, and he remembered that today was when Jeri had gone off with her parents to visit some relatives. He couldn't remember the name of the city, just that he had been there before with Guilmon and Calumon to drop off Jeri, or rather her D-Reaper clone after their return from the digital world.

Had he been remembering that particular scene Takato would have involuntarily shuddered.

Takato's face became a little crestfallen as instead his mind turned to the time of the Hanami celebration, remembering how strange Jeri had been at the end of the day that they had gone there and met up with Rika and the rest of the gang. She seemed to have a lot on her mind at the time. Of course she had seemed to be nervous at the start of things and then afterwards distant, and he could sort of understand it. He had been pretty nervous about the whole ordeal too (and with plenty of reason to be as young love is not an easy thing to experience) but after that day…

Takato sighed inwardly. He had hung out with Jeri since then of course, twice at the Hanami celebration and while the puppet loving girl seemed to appreciate the time that they shared during the week of Cherry Blossom watching Takato couldn't help but feel as though she were thinking about something else every time that they were together, or was made uncomfortable in some manner, as though his presence was reminding her of something. A few times she had made as if she had wanted to ask him something but decided against it and then tried to distract him from the issue immediately afterwards. He didn't know what it was that was bothering her, but for some reason he felt, or rather feared, that he had something to do with it and was afraid to confront him about it. He wished that she would just tell him and get it over with so that he wasn't just standing around second guessing himself. He wanted to help her but he couldn't do that if she didn't talk to him about whatever was bothering her and took every opportunity that came up to avoid the issue.

_Maybe I should talk to her when she gets back… say something to her,_ thought Takato as he washed down some of his meal with a quick sip of some milk. _I hate to see her like this. I should have caught on to it sooner. I didn't think too much of it then and she told me that everything was all right but… I don't know. I can't help but wonder if things are the same between us. It feels likes something's changed and I can't put my finger on what it is or how it happened. I wish that I had some answers. I don't want to lose our friendship._

Takato frowned at the thought, part of him wanting to berate himself for even entertaining such thoughts but he couldn't help but worry about it. It was just how he was. He never liked to see someone he cared about hurting in some fashion and he had the habit of taking their pain as a personal failure on his part even when it wasn't necessary or even his fault to begin with. He cared about his friends a great deal, all of them and there were plenty of times where he felt inadequate to do something for them, like how Rika had helped him last week when he was feeling down…

_"You promised the sunset we'd always, always be together…"_

Takato turned his gaze back down to his food, picking at it with his chopsticks as the memory from the park came back to him once more for what had to be the tenth time since waking up this morning as a small, slightly embarrassed smile curved on his lips. He still wasn't all too sure what to make of that day. There was so much about it that seemed weird to him, and Rika's singing to him only served to drive the point home. Not that he didn't appreciate the gesture; far from it in fact, but it just seemed a little bit odd from his standpoint. Rika _singing_ to him… it wasn't something that he was used to, though he had to admit that it was rather nice. She had shown him a part of herself that didn't get to come out often.

_I sure wish that she would be like that more,_ thought Takato, thinking on all the times that he had seen that warm, kind, and friendly aspect that seemed almost foreign to the tough personality that he was used to seeing from the red haired girl, like the concern that she had shown Jeri after she had lost Leomon, or the depth of friendship that she showed to Renamon. She had a way of surprising him that way, and he guessed that it was one of the traits that he admired about her. Her heart had grown quite a lot during the course of their digimon adventures and had become a much more caring person, a far cry from the cold and vicious Tamer who had tried to delete Guilmon almost a year ago. The change of the heart on her shirt almost seemed to serve as an example of just how much she had changed…

_Okay, maybe it's best that I don't go down that line of thought,_ thought Takato as a small blush began to heat up his cheeks as a memory from a time down in the tunnels flitted through his mind. Forcing the memory to the side with an effort (and an increasing blush at it to go with the nervous smile that twitched on his face) Takato tried to think of something else, his thoughts beginning to go in a circular motion as they chased after his worries over Jeri and then settling once more on the fiery Tamer who had shown him such a high degree of friendship last week, and he faintly wondered at how Rika seemed to be acting _different _towards him now since the day that he and the rest had gone Cherry Blossom Watching and played Frisbee in the park. _Nicer _seeming, but then that could probably just be his overactive imagination. She still acted the same way around him, as he was accustomed to prior to last week…

So why was it that every time he saw her there seemed to be some extra light in her eyes? Her smile just that much wider and her tone that much more welcoming when greeting him?

All these questions Takato felt more as an emotion tickling the back of his mind rather than an actual thought, and for the most part he brushed them off, and as a consequence overlooking the odd timing in Rika and Jeri's change in attitude towards him and the possibility that they were more than just coincidence. As Takato continued to eat his lunch, the notes of Rika's song played through his mind once more and with them came images of the strange dream that he had about Rika this morning. His fingers fumbling with the chopsticks in his hand Takato's face flushed a deep crimson.

_Maybe Rika's right,_ thought Takato as he desperately tried to shoo the memory away. _Maybe my goggles are cutting off the circulation to my brain…wait, I'm not wearing my goggles right now…_

"TAKATO!" Called out the boy's mother from the interior of the bakery, causing the goggleheaded Tamer to jump in surprise, all but losing his chopsticks right then and there. "NOT TO RUSH YOU OR ANYTHING BUT I _DO_ NEED YOUR HELP WITH THE BREAD DOUGH SOMETIME **TODAY!"**

"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Called back Takato as he quickly got himself a good grip on his chopsticks and proceeded to imitate his digimon's eating habits, downing the remainder of his food in one quick gulp before picking up his plate and rushing back to the bakery section of his home.

_Sheesh. I'll bet Rika's having more fun than me right now…_

* * *

Rika stood next to her mother as they both admired a piece of artwork hanging on the wall before them. Upon meeting at the house the two of them had exchanged pleasantries and then together left to _hang out_ somewhere in the city, both taking turns on where to go and what to see as had become part of their regular routine since becoming closer as mother and daughter. This time it had been Rumiko's turn to choose but surprisingly she had left the decision up to her daughter, who had opted to try something that was a little against the norm. Not really wanting to do anything that she deemed to be _girly_ but still wanting to try something that they both could enjoy the red headed girl had chosen a visit to the art museum. While she felt that the slow pace of standing around looking at famous paintings or other forms of artwork wasn't quite suited to her tastes she didn't mind it all that much today, so long as she got to hang out with her mother for a while. Though Rumiko had been negotiating with her modeling company to give her a more manageable schedule so that she could spend more time with her family, there were still some trips that called her complete attention and time away from home, so it was best to enjoy these moments while she could. 

At the moment the two of them were gazing at a pretty standard picture of a Sakura tree, medium size and looked to have been done with mostly watercolor. Nothing too special about it Rika thought and she had seen more than enough of the real thing in the past two weeks where she didn't really have to pay much in the way of attention to it, so she let her mind drift back to this morning after her _defeat_ at the hands of a certain Gogglehead, resting on the memory for a moment and smiling at it, focusing on it with a quiet, observing eye in the same way that her mother was focusing on the painting.

"So Rika," said her blond haired mother, snapping the girl out of her reverie. "You didn't tell me yet about what you thought of the Hanami celebration this year. Your grandmother says that you had stayed there for the day."

Rika blinked.

"Huh? Oh. It was… _good_ I guess. I spent some time with my friends. Nothing too big went down. Certainly no _Wild Ones_ showed up, that's for sure."

Rumiko smiled gently as she turned to look at her daughter.

"That's good to know," the elder Nonaka said with a nod. "It's good to know that you get along so well with your friends. Makes me wish that I were here last week. It would have been nice to have gone down to the Sakura trees and just relax for the entire day."

Rika smiled at her mother as they both moved on to another piece of artwork behind them.

"What does Renamon think of Hanami?" Asked Rumiko. "And where is she anyway? I only saw her the one time when I got home…"

"She's around," said Rika shrugging her shoulders. "She just rather prefers to be outside right now. She doesn't want to feel like she's intruding on our time together that' all."

"Hmmm… well, it would have been nice to talk to her, but I can do that afterwards. But I am curious about what she thinks of Hanami…"

"She hasn't said that she _dislikes_ it," said Rika with a small smile. "But I think that she enjoyed her time there."

"That's good to know," said Rumiko. "I enjoyed myself there too when I was younger. It was nice to see so many happy people gathered together in one place and not have a care in the world." Rumiko sighed as her eyes took on a nostalgic glint to them as memories from an earlier time made their way into her mind.

"I haven't really had time for Hanami in quite a while. I've just been too busy with modeling to really care to think about it much." Rumiko then fixed her daughter with a sad look. "Been too busy to think about a lot of things…"

Rika's face softened and she looked away, feeling a little uncomfortable with the topic of conversation now. There were times where she hated herself for how she acted towards her mother about the amount of attention that she devoted to her modeling career, and how often she had tried to get Rika to follow in her footsteps, and there were times where she was reflexively suspicious of her mother's motives whenever they went somewhere together and hated herself for even thinking that way. Old habits died hard it seemed and some died the hardest, but she had changed quite a bit since those early days and she loved her mother a great deal, just like her mother loved her. Rika didn't want the ghosts of her past holding her back from telling people how she felt about them or trying to help them when they were down.

"Mom…" began Rika only to be silenced by the older woman as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"It's okay Rika. That's why we're here now, right? Now come on, let's go and see what else this place has in store for us, okay honey?"

Rika smiled and nodded at her mother, feeling a sense of relief flood through her.

"You bet."

A second later, Rumiko's cell phone broke the moment between them as it began ringing and Rika tensed, guessing that whoever was calling was no doubt going to be her modeling agency. Pulling the annoying object out of her purse, Rumiko glanced at it and frowned, only confirming Rika's suspicions. Almost on instinct, Rika tensed, sensing that this was the moment where she would answer and then have to excuse herself with an apology…

_Click!_

Rika blinked in surprise as Rumiko hung up her cell phone and promptly turned it off, then placing it back in her purse before looking back at Rika and smiling at her.

"They can wait for a while. _We're_ already busy."

Rika chuckled at that.

"Got that right. C'mon. I want to see the rest of this place."

Rumiko gave a light laugh of her own as the two women began to look for another piece of artwork to look at. After a moment, Rumiko looked at her daughter with an expression that was both curious and sly.

"By the way Rika, seeing as how you went to the Hanami celebration does that mean that you took that boy Takato up on the offer he made back on your birthday?"

Rika immediately tensed again as she felt her face begin to heat up dramatically. Rika frowned at her mother.

"Mom…"

Rumiko laughed at the girl who in one year had seen and experienced more than most people experience in their lifetime now for a brief moment sounded like the youthful child that she really was.

"Just asking…"

Rika groaned in exasperation.

* * *

7 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

The Dreamer

Chapter: 5

"Masahiko! Calumon! Settle down!" Demanded Shizue Katou as the pair of children-well, one child and one child-like digimon- giggled, the young stepbrother of Jeri Katou reaching out to try and grab the small, white creampuff as he leapt up into the air, his ears expanding and allowing him to stay just out of reach of the small child.

"But Mommmm…"whined Masahiko, his face transforming into a small pout as he hesitated in his spot on the seat. From nearby, his older sister Jeri giggled at the scene. The two of them had been caught up in some kind of game that was apparently _spur of the moment_, both having agreed upon it without any communication between them beyond laughter and her little brother making an attempt to grab Calumon. Of course, as all things of this nature go, especially in a place as public as a train, it didn't last long, especially when one was in such close proximity to their mother.

"No. We're on a train! You can't just go acting rambunctious here whenever you want. The conductor won't allow it! Can't you two just wait until we get home? We're almost there?"

Calumon settled down on top of the train seat and his ears shrunk into his head, nodding without any argument from his part. After being accepted as a regular part of the Katou household and family, Calumon had quickly picked up that there were certain things that one did and didn't do, and going along with them without any complaint (well, there _was_ the occasional but he never overstepped his bounds). A strange thing, Jeri felt given his reputation among the other Tamers, and even stranger that Calumon was actually counted on to be Masahiko's occasional baby-sitter (and a fine one at that in an odd twist of irony) but there you had it. Even Jeri's father could attest that the little creampuff of a digimon was surprisingly obedient despite his child-like personality and past tendency to go and get into trouble (however unintentional on his part).

Masahiko, as young as he was though and inexperienced, still had to fully learn such concepts.

Jeri felt her father stir and fix the young boy with a firm stare, but the boy wasn't paying any attention to him, focused as he was on trying to get his mother to ease up on her strictness in the regards of rules. In about a second the man would involve himself and tell Masahiko to behave himself and listen to his mother.

Suddenly Calumon leapt over onto Masahiko's head, snatching his attention. Looking up in surprise the boy giggled, as if at some private joke or conversation that had passed silently between him and Calumon in that way that only children seemed capable of communicating, and then looked back at his mother once before settling back down in his seat.

"Okay…" the boy mumbled, conceding defeat to his parents for the time being and willing to endure the silence of the train ride just a little bit longer, though how long that was going to be remained to be seen. He was after all, a child. And with the amount of cake that he had at his grandmother's house, having to sit still with all that pent up energy had to be torturous. Jeri's eyes softened for a moment before turning her head away and contenting herself with looking out the window, letting her mind drift with the trees and mountains as they passed by. Night had now fallen over the land, and it would be late by the time they got in. Jeri didn't mind. She actually looked forward to going straight to bed after the fun and exhilarating day that she had just had at her grandparent's home, mostly because Calumon was just so full of energy, even without the benefit of sugar to power his batteries. It made Calumon something of a handful to deal with at times, but as always he was more than worth the trouble. No matter what, he always had a way of bringing light into the darkest of places with nothing more than smiles and laughter, from the dangers of the digital world to the depths of D-Reaper, and he was always willing to share that light and happiness.

_Of course, what do you expect from the former __**light of digivolution? **_Thought Jeri as a small smile crossed her face.

"Have fun today, Jeri?" Spoke up Jeri's father, a small smile growing on his face as he watched Calumon and Masahiko continue to have fun, only toned down so that they wouldn't get into trouble again. At present, Masahiko was making airplane noises, holding Calumon in the air and (as calmly and as minutely as possible) flying him through the air. Calumon responded with a series of high pitched laughs that were characteristic of the diminutive, cream-colored digimon. Jeri turned away from the window and beamed up at her father, though something about the way he had phrased his question made her wonder why he had asked. After all, he had _seen_ her having fun today…

"Of course I did, Dad. It was good to see grandma and grandfather again. We don't get to see them all that often since they live so far away from Shinjuku…"

_And because our family business needs a lot of attention,_ thought Jeri but she wasn't going to say that. She had no hard feelings about the amount of time that her father spent with the restaurant (they had to make a living after all, and she enjoyed the patrons that regularly frequented it as well), but she didn't want to give the idea that she held any resentment. She loved her father too much to want him to think that.

"I know," said Tadashi Katou. "We don't always have the time that we'd like to have to visit them, do we? I'm glad that you had fun today Jeri."

Jeri's smile widened.

"I'm glad that I got to spend time with all of you."

Tadashi chuckled.

"It was the least I could do to make it up to you for not being able to attend the Hanami celebration. I've always felt inadequate after…" Tadashi paused for a moment, as if debating whether or not to continue with what he was trying to say. "I've always felt inadequate raising you alone, and I felt bad after you came home that one day last week…"

Jeri suddenly felt the need to avert her eyes as her cheeks began to warm up from the memory that her father had recalled to her, and with it a feeling of sadness and confusion as she recalled some of the events that had transpired during that one week of Hanami. But she held firm and placed a hand on her father's arm, squeezing it comfortably as she tried to set her father's mind at ease.

"Dad…" Jeri began; swallowing nervously and hoping that her emotions wouldn't dim the comfort that she tried to give her father. "You don't need to feel bad about missing Hanami. You had business to take care of, and it's always busy during Cherry Blossom week…"

Tadashi turned to look at his daughter and he took Jeri's hand into his own. He smiled warmly.

"I know. It's just…" Tadashi turned away and scowled to himself. "It's just sometimes I feel that I don't do enough for you. Ever since you ran away that one time…and that monster that took you…"

Tadashi paused, not entirely wanting to think about that painful time, and not wanting at all to remind his daughter about it either.

"I just don't want you to be unhappy. When you came home that day last week during the Hanami celebration…and knowing how much you wanted to go even though I had decided not to take time off…"

"Dad," interrupted Jeri, her cheeks now becoming absolutely red now, though she still smiled beautifully; clutching at the edges of her green dress tightly, Jeri spoke, hoping that she didn't stutter or anything as she did so. "It's okay. Really…it is. It's no big deal. As for…last week…I just had some things on my mind when I came home, that's all."

"Hmmm…" Tadashi's expression softened, though whether or not he was truly put at ease by Jeri's attempt to ease his mind, she couldn't be sure. Jeri glanced over at her stepmother and stepbrother. Shizue was trying once more to get Masahiko to calm down. Even Calumon was making an effort to calm the boy's overly energetic nerves. So far it seemed to be working.

"Nothing bad happened last week, did it? You seemed to have been rather down during that holiday…even when that Takato boy came around."

"Oh Dad," said Jeri, laughing a little uneasily. "Nothing _bad_ happened last week. I had a good time with all my friends. I told you about how Takato and I met up with Rika and Henry's family and how the others showed up afterwards. I was just thinking about stuff…some things that Leomon told me about before he…"

Jeri halted, saddened at the memory of the proud, lion warrior that had given his life away in defense of her friends. Tadashi tightened his hold on her hand, offering comfort to the former Tamer.

"You know…" Tadashi began after a second. "Before I went out to find you when you were captured by D-Reaper…your friend Takato asked me to not be mad at you. That what had happened…wasn't your fault. The way he looked at me…it was as if his eyes told me things about you and myself that I had never thought about before. Something that I never would have thought to come from a child his age…" Tadashi chuckled wryly at that before continuing. "I know that I'm not the best father out there. I've always tried to do right by you, and sometimes I feel that I don't. I try though…"

"Dad…" began Jeri, only to be interrupted by Tadashi.

"I love you very much Jeri. Never forget that. I'll always try to do right by you. Just remember, that if you ever need to talk about something…_anything_ at all, I'm here for you."

Jeri looked up at her father, and smiled warmly.

"I know. And…thanks."

Tadashi pulled the girl closer to him and kissed her gently on top of her head, smiling softly as he held her in a hug.

"Your friend," Tadashi said quietly. "Takato…he's a good person at heart, Jeri. I'm glad that you're friends with him. I'm glad that you're friends with all of your friends."

"Me too, Dad," said Jeri calmly. "Me too…"

* * *

That night, Jeri lay in her bed looking up at the ceiling, thinking over the memories that had resurfaced from her conversation with her father. Of course, it wasn't as though they were that deeply buried. They had been in the back of her mind during most of the time that she had been with Takato, and though she wasn't particularly bothered by them they were something that made her wonder from time to time. Memories from that day with all the others, watching the Cherry Blossoms and playing Frisbee and games of Digimon…overhearing Rika telling Renamon about Takato's dream about her (that one especially had left her rather stunned and filled with doubt) and Takato's proposal to her on her birthday from about a month ago, her own conversation with Guilmon and Renamon regarding the goggle-wearing Tamer. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, although she had to admit that her conversation with Renamon had certainly made the knowledge far more bearable than it otherwise would have been. 

Still…there were some things about what she had learned that bothered her, and she couldn't quite name why that was. Jealousy? No. That wasn't it.

_Destiny?_ A quiet voice whispered in her mind.

_Maybe…maybe…_thought Jeri, though her conversation with Renamon had lessened the importance of that thought to her. But it wasn't something that would let go easily.

_Maybe tomorrow… I should talk to Takato…when I see him…_

Jeri drifted off to sleep with that thought echoing through her mind.

* * *

A/N-First time that I've tried my hand at writing Jeri interacting with her family so it's certainly a new experience for me. Something about it feels off to me but I can't quite figure it out. Hopefully it's nothing too important. Jeri's thoughts I felt were especially important in this story, and will play an important role in the next chapter so I hope that I did okay. 'Till next time then. Later. 

-Crazyeight

* * *

5 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 6

A new day dawned over Shinjuku, and the light of the rising sun found Takato Matsuki racing through the park with a certain crimson colored digimon racing with him. However, they were in no hurry to face a bio-emerging digimon, no, no. As surprising as it may sound the two of them had woken up early, admittedly more at Mei's behest then at their own. Neither were complaining though, and each for different reasons. For Guilmon it was a chance to spend more time with his partner…_awake…_before the boy had to head off to school (it being that most unfortunate day of the week known to all as Monday), and for Takato his reasons for the early rise were similar to Guilmon's. No surprise there since he had created Guilmon, had merged with him both physically and mentally, and was bonded to his digital partner in every way that mattered and more, but the Tamer's reasons, however similar to that of his red partner, were made just a little bit more complex by the fact that he didn't want to arrive late at Ms. Asagi's class. The idea of staying after school and writing essays on _'the importance of getting to school on time'_ until his fingers bled (or something to that extent) did not at all appeal to him. Especially if it meant less time spent with Guilmon and the rest of his friends.

Ah, the life of a prepubescent child…

"Guilmon…" Takato laughed as he pulled the bag full of day old bread away from his partner's questing nose. "C'mon! Cut it out! You can't have it yet…not until we meet up with the others anyway…"

"Ohhh…but Takato I'm _hungry_…"

"You just had breakfast a few minutes ago, and _this,_" Takato hefted the bag full of his family's bakery's bread into the air to not only emphasize its presence and purpose, as well as to keep it out of the way of Guilmon's clutches. "Is supposed to be your lunch for _later_."

"But I can always go down to the bakery and get more," said Guilmon simply, his face taking on a playful sparkle to it and causing Takato to sigh.

"I know, boy. But you know I don't like it when you go somewhere outside of the park on your own. Who knows what could happen to you when I'm not around. You tend to attract an awful lot of attention, and even though people are more aware of the existence of digimon that doesn't mean that we don't have to keep you hidden anymore. Some people just aren't too fond of the idea of digimon right at the moment…"

Takato gave his partner a halfhearted smile, remembering a little of what Yamaki had told him and the others a few weeks ago, shortly after the incident with the Parasimon, and it concerned the civilian populace's view on digimon. Although the head of Hypnos had talked to the Tamers about it before after their digimon had returned from the digital world, recent events had only heightened some stresses that made people look at digimon in a negative light, culminating in the appearance of websites that called for deletion of digimon, the digital world, and anything even remotely associated with the word _digital_ (for the most extreme cases). Although it wasn't anything serious at the moment, based on what Yamaki had shown the Tamers, it was certainly cause for worry. If nothing else, Rika had pointed out later on in her usual, cynical (yet not wholly unfounded) way, it was only the tip of the iceberg. So they had to be careful in some situations where they were in unfamiliar areas. But even in their home city of Shinjuku, they had to maintain a certain amount of vigilance.

Which was why Takato didn't like the idea of Guilmon going anywhere on his own where he might get into trouble.

_Sometimes you can be such a worrywart,_ Takato could hear Terriermon's voice proclaiming to him. Takato chuckled inwardly.

"Do you understand…boy?" Takato asked tentatively, deftly moving the bag of bread out of his partner's reach once more as he nipped at air. Guilmon's ears drooped slightly.

"Hmmmmnnn…yeah, I guess I do. But…can't I at least have a little snack to eat?"

Takato laughed lightly and dug into the bag of bread, bringing out a piece and holding it out to his partner.

"You're a glutton, Guilmon," the boy said, as if stating a fact of life. Guilmon excitedly took the bread with a quick _thank you, _and _yeah_ before launching into yet another round of the Guilmon Bread song, even though the item in question was definitely not anywhere close to resembling the digimon's head.

_Oh well,_ thought Takato as he watched his partner dance up and down excitedly, waving the loaf of bread around like a trophy and completely forgetting about eating it. _I wouldn't have it any other way._

After about another minute the two friends and partners entered the vicinity of the Shinjuku Park's playground and ran up to the dinosaur dome where Guardromon stood vigilantly, watching over the four children and two digimon who sat on the ground engrossed in yet another game of Digimon. Takato smiled. He was glad that they had continued to play the game, even with the decreased difficulty that the gaming company, Bandai had been having with marketing digimon related products since the D-Reaper had been defeated (some concerned parents had taken to boycotting the game and anything even remotely having to do with it, fearful that just by being associated with the product could end up having their children turn into Tamers and sent to the digital world in the middle of the night). How the game still managed to thrive despite the ever-fluctuating number of sales Takato didn't know, and for the most part didn't care as long as his favorite game continued to be put onto the market. Still, he did wonder from time to time if Yamaki had anything to do with it.

_Probably not,_ thought Takato as his overactive imagination took hold and brought the mental image of Yamaki swiping a modify card through a dark-gray trimmed digivice before providing a few snappy poses to go along with the act. Takato had to chuckle a little at that. _Yup. Mom's right. Sometimes my imagination __**can**__ be a curse…_

"Hey guys," proclaimed Takato happily as he set down both bags down on the ground next to him, beaming widely as he got ready to break out his digimon cards to get in one quick battle before they had to leave for school. His greeting was met by an equally jubilant greeting from Kazu, Kenta, Henry, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and Jeri (who _woofed_ at him with her sock puppet as a greeting).

"Ah…" began Kazu with a smirk on his face as he laid down a SkullMeramon over his Meramon card. "So the triumphant champion returns."

Takato cocked an eyebrow in confusion, noting Kazu's teasing tone. What had he done this time to warrant Kazu's sarcastic remarks? Not like the visor-wearing boy ever needed an invitation or a reason to do so, since he did it with such regularity anyway and sometimes without reason, but the way Kazu had said that felt as though there was a _specific_ reason for the way he was acting.

"Say wha…?"

Over on Henry's shoulder Terriermon giggled.

"Awfully slow in the uptake isn't he?"

"Be a good stuffed animal," said Henry in a voice that was both sarcastic and deadpan as he playfully rapped his partner on his head.

"Terriermon told us about your victory over Rika," said Kenta, grinning, causing Takato to suddenly become uncomfortable. "Specifically how you had done it without even paying attention to what you were doing."

"It…it was nothing really," said Takato, avoiding everyone's gaze as he dug through his bag and brought out his box of digimon cards. "Just luck…"

"Sure," scoffed Kazu. "I'm sure that's what they all say. Even Ryo was about as humble as you were when I asked him about his first match with Rika. Man, how come _you_ were able to pull a win out of your hat while the rest of us are still made to suffer?"

"I'm sure that it means that the digi-gods of the cards can tell that Takato's just superior," joked Terriermon from his spot on Henry's shoulder, giggling slightly and covering his mouth with his tiny paws. Takato for his part was starting to feel a tad bit annoyed with the amount of attention that Terriermon was heaping on something that was really nothing more than a fluke. Everyone got lucky sooner or later. But then again, that _sooner or later_ didn't usually apply to him when it came to matches with any of his friends. To have that natural law of the universe suddenly alter, and against Rika of all people, self proclaimed _Digimon Queen_ and one of the top ranked players in Japan, was certainly enough to cause a few heads to turn.

_Still,_ thought Takato frowning slightly. _Does Terriermon have to make it seem like the biggest thing since…since Momentai?_

Alas, no answer came to him.

"C'mon you guys," chided Henry. "Don't you think that you're making all of this a far bigger deal than it actually is? I mean, sure, even _I_ was surprised by it and I was there but I don't think that…"

"Henry!" exclaimed Kazu in mock surprise as he looked over at the half-Chinese Tamer. "I _cannot_ believe you sometimes! I thought that you knew that when it comes to stuff like cards, it's how we Tamers keep score!"

"Yeah right," said Kenta. "Isn't that what you said before about fighting?"

"Phhht! I was referring to how _boys_ keep score, chumly, and that was because Jeri had asked why we thought fighting was so great. Last I checked, Rika wasn't a boy…"

"She'd probably make a better one than you," quipped Terriermon, causing Kazu to look at the dog bunny in surprise. Over on the sidelines Jeri began to giggle uncontrollably, causing Takato to look over at her and smile warmly, grateful to see the puppet-loving girl happy. "Besides," Terriermon continued. "I believe that the operative term to describe Rika is _Tomboy."_

And round and round the conversation went, before eventually shifting away unnoticeably to a far different topic as Kenta asked Takato if he had done the homework for class causing the boy to in turn choke on air and fumble with the deck that he had put together, having just been reminded far too late about the assignment that sat uncompleted in his bag. And so it was that time that Takato had intended to spend playing a game of Digimon with his friends was instead used to try and finish his assignment. Alas, even with the combined efforts of Jeri and Kenta, providing not only their knowledge but also notes and a completed assignment to copy from, time was not with the goggle-wearing Tamer and soon enough the group was forced to pack it in and head off to class.

_Oh man…I don't believe this. Ms. Asagi is going to kill me! Maybe I can get away with it this one time or something…yeah. And Guilmon will swear off bread for good as well. In my dreams._

With a sigh, Takato stuffed his remaining papers in his bag and grabbed his card box, stashing them up in the dinosaur hideout with Kazu and Kenta's collection and hopped down, preparing to follow after his friends as they already began their mad sprint towards the school.

Only to be stopped by the gentle hand of Jeri as she clasped onto his arm.

"Huh? Jeri?" Asked Takato; a little bit confused as to why she was stopping him at a time like this; if they didn't get to class on time Ms. Asagi would make them wait in the hall again. He was about to voice this well-known fact but one look at the serious expression that was etched on Jeri's face made him pause.

"Jeri? You okay?"

Jeri frowned slightly as she detached her hand from Takato's arm and then moved it to massage her own, puppet-wearing hand nervously as she took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I…I was just wondering if…if you had any time after school, Takato," said Jeri quietly, measuring her words carefully as she said them. "You know…to talk…"

Takato looked at Jeri, a little dumbfounded, and he blinked to make sure that he hadn't misheard what she had said (though how blinking could do that exactly since they weren't associated with the auditory system known as ears, he couldn't say). Was he dreaming? No…no he didn't think that was the case…not if the slight heat that he felt building in his cheeks was any indication. Of course, those two dreams that he had about Rika felt pretty realistic…

_And where did my brain just go, again?_ Thought Takato, blinking again and feeling his body temperature elevate just a little bit more. Sometimes it frightened him what paths his mind could take when he wasn't thinking properly._ Maybe Terriermon has something about those moments when I don't pay attention to things…_

"Takato?" Asked Jeri tentatively, breaking the boy out of his thoughts, and once again Takato blinked in surprise, feeling that all-too-familiar heat build up even more. He could already feel his stomach start tying itself into knots. In an effort to beat the influx of nerves Takato opened his mouth to answer Jeri's question, all the while rubbing the back of his head and smiling goofily to himself.

"Um… Yeah! Sure! I'll…uh…see you after school! Um…" Suddenly Takato paused, his face becoming serious. "Where do you want to meet?"

Jeri pursed her lips together for a moment before raising her amber eyes to meet Takato's auburn ones.

"Let's just…wait 'till school lets out, okay? We'll see where things go from there after that."

"Oh." Takato raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Okay…"

"We'd better be off to class now," said Jeri as she shifted her bag on her shoulders and began to walk off. Takato stood where he was for a moment longer, watching Jeri head off, his eyes throwing concern and curiosity at the girl as he pondered the reasons for Jeri's wanting to talk to him.

_She's been acting weird ever since last week,_ thought Takato almost unknowingly to himself. A second later he felt something push against his back, and he restrained a shout of surprise as he stumbled forward. Looking over his shoulder, Takato scowled.

"Guilmon…"

"But I thought you were going off to school now Takato," said the crimson dragon as he cocked his head to one side. Takato's face softened as he chuckled and rubbed his partner's head.

"Yeah. Thanks for reminding me buddy. I'll see you after school, okay?"

"Okay!" Exclaimed the red raptor gleefully, and with a small smile on his face, Takato took off, eager to catch up with his friends before they could beat him to school.

* * *

A/N: Mostly character interaction in this chapter, though I feel that I handled it better this time than in some of the previous installments, but so far nothing major…yet. There's still Jeri's _talk_ with Takato to do, and that should be an interesting challenge in itself. I sometimes wonder if I'm making Jeri too worried or focused on what she had learned in 'Song of the Setting Sun', so how she handles her talk with Takato is going to be of the utmost importance. I don't want her coming off as jealous or anything like that since she's been portrayed in the series as being very understanding and even thoughtful at times. Something for me to think about later I suppose. I'll take some time to plan the upcoming scene out while updating my other fics. Hopefully I won't take a month getting back to this one. I DO know how I want this fic to end, but it's simply a matter of getting from point A to point B and I'm a little fuzzy on Takato and Jeri's upcoming scene. 'Till next time then. Later. :P 

-Crazyeight

* * *

6 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 7

Takato busily wrote down notes as Ms. Asagi droned on about last class's reading assignment. The one that Takato had _forgotten_ to do, and had been unable to complete despite his best efforts, and that of his friends as they helped him that morning. As much as Takato hated to admit it, there was something to be said about the timeliness for the completion of homework assignments and not leaving things 'till the last minute. Takato shuddered mentally as he recalled Ms. Asagi's withering frown as she approached his desk and had found him not only without a completed homework, but a lack of knowledge on the subject at hand.

Needless to say, detention became the buzzword for the day, complete with an essay on _'Importance of Doing Homework'._

Takato sighed dejectedly as he wrote down more notes, knowing that each and every bit of them was going to be important for him if he was going to ace the quiz that was coming up for the class tomorrow. The timing couldn't have been better Takato noted sarcastically. One day to study, and a good chunk of it was going to be lost spending it here at school, learning about _other_ things. Well, it wasn't as though he worried that he was going to fail the test. The story itself was actually pretty easy to memorize, but it did bother him a little that the quiz was coming down on him so soon and he just wasn't as ready for it as he had been on other occasions.

_At least Kazu's stopped complaining,_ thought Takato with a small smile._ The way he was going on you'd think that the world was coming to an end. Come to think of it, he'd probably welcome another attempt at it. If only because he'd get out of school to help the rest of us deal with whatever digimon or evil program it was that was attempting to do such a thing…again. And then he'd complain about how the school wasn't destroyed in the ensuing chaos…_

Takato chuckled lightly remembering Kazu's reaction upon finding that Shinjuku elementary hadn't been demolished during the many battles against D-Reaper and its agents. It was rather interesting that the school escaped unscathed when everything else had either been demolished or had a huge gaping hole in it (usually courtesy of MegaGargomon's missiles, a missed _Lightning Joust _from Gallantmon, or Justimon's _Thunder Clap_ as it tore up the streets, and if failing that there was also the agents that went about wrecking havoc). It lent a bizarre, almost _mystical_ quality to the school that had twice been used as a shelter for the Tamers. Though for those who attended said school it seemed more like a personal joke played on them by fate or fortune, though whatever that joke was it had definitely gone over their heads.

Takato paused in his writing to glance over his notes to make sure that he had everything that he needed and that he had gotten them right before resuming once again, matching the strict pace that his teacher set for the class with the ease of long practice. As he did so, his mind drifted, tugged by the winds of his subconscious where he eventually came to rest on a certain girl with brown hair, a small pigtail on one side of her head, and soft, warm amber eyes that at times, more often then not these past few months, enchanted him…

_Jeri…_

Takato jerked suddenly as he realized that he had been staring in reality at said girl in addition to what was going on in his brain, and as warmth flooded his face Takato looked away and back down at his notes. After a second he glanced back up at Jeri. She was firmly focused on the teacher at the front of the class. Apparently she hadn't noticed him staring as he had feared.

_That would be embarrassing,_ thought Takato as he went back to his notes and attempted to catch up with the teacher. However, his efforts were presently made futile by the fact that having caught himself the way he did had brought forth a large amount of emotions that left him with an increasing feeling of warmth and a nervousness that made his heart beat a harsh rhythm in his chest. Taking a deep, calming breath, Takato closed his eyes and counted to three. Upon reopening his eyes Takato glanced once more at Jeri before returning his gaze back to the chalkboard. Takato's expression fell a little as he thought about the brown haired girl, remembering how she had wanted to see him after school to talk to him. About what he didn't know, and that worried him. Actually, the way that she had been acting since asking him about that disconcerted him entirely. She seemed _uncertain_ about something. Worried to by the way she sounded though about what he couldn't tell for sure. She had been acting rather oddly ever since he had first invited her to go Cherry Blossom watching with him

_I don't understand what it was that got her to act like this,_ thought Takato glumly as he absently scribbled in his notebook, a picture already beginning to form when he had sworn upon entering class that that was _the_ last thing that he was going to do in school today. _She told me that it wasn't anything that I did, so why do I feel that whatever it is that's bothering her is about me? Maybe I'm just being paranoid…_

Takato's mind, ever at work with its mysterious, imaginative workings, was already conjuring up a series of memories from conversations that he had with his father, Kazu, and a short, pointed remark from Terriermon on a brief discussion about girls, none of which had ever really been comforting to him even though for his father, and to some extent Kazu as well, comfort had been their primary agenda. Takahiro's version was not quite the _sage knowledge_ that the elder Matsuki had been trying to make it out to be as his words were occasionally punctuated by half uncertain glances at his wife as she eavesdropped on the conversation in a way that made the man sweat. Kazu, under no such pressure had put it much more bluntly after he had told him how Jeri had wanted to go home on her own. Kazu was affirmed in the belief that at any time that a person of the female persuasion said that whatever was bothering them wasn't the guy's fault, it most definitely _was_. The fact that Kazu's experience with girls up to this point consisted of hanging out with Rika and Jeri, as well as the occasional argument with his fellow classmates Ayaka and Miki was not lost on Takato. It wasn't lost on Kenta either, and the bespectacled boy had derided Kazu for his lack of experience in emotional relationships outside of friendship with the Tamers and the partnership that he had with Guardromon.

Kazu of course, as humble as he was, insisted that in spite of his lack of experience in the field he was just as qualified to give advice as the next guy. Not that his advice was reassuring.

_I'm just glad that I didn't tell him about Rika walking me home,_ thought Takato glumly as his rough doodle began to take shape. _Since he wouldn't leave me alone about my actually defeating her in a card game, I imagine that if he knew about __**that**__ I'd never hear the end of it._

Oddly, Takato's mind hung on that thought, and in an odd twist attempted to connect it with Jeri's current attitude towards him. In a brief moment of recollection the brown haired boy remembered a time at the Hanami festival when Rika and Jeri had disappeared into a clump of Sakura trees; Rika looking somewhat irritated about something while Jeri looked concerned. Takato's pencil paused on the paper and he frowned at his doodle as the memory hovered in his mind like a raindrop hanging off of a leaf. A second later Takato discarded the thought and reversed his pencil, setting about to erase his drawing. It was a nondescript piece of art, crudely resembling a girl wearing a wide brimmed hat (if he could even call it that). He didn't really know why he had been drawing it to begin with, but now seemed like a good time to get rid of it before Ms. Asagi caught him drawing in class again. He didn't want to have another essay on the importance of paying attention to go along with the one that he was already going to be writing once school let out. When it came to that sort of thing, Ms. Asagi could be brutal…

Takato had just pressed the eraser end of his pencil to the drawing when a folded up piece of paper flopped down in front of him. Blinking in surprise Takato hesitated, staring at it in confusion before he heard some giggling from a couple rows over. Looking up carefully Takato saw Jeri looking at him from the corner of her eye while her friends Ayaka and Miki attempted to stifle their laughter. Smiling, and blushing lightly as well, Takato felt a small bit of relief flood his mind as he carefully unfolded the paper and began read what the note said.

He got as far as _Takato_ when he realized that the sound of Ms. Asagi's writing on the chalkboard had stopped completely, and was replaced by the steady rhythm of her shoes _clicking_ upon the ground.

Takato's eyes went bug wide and frantically he looked up at the cool expression on his teacher's face as she made her way towards his desk. There was no way out of this one. He couldn't hide the note without her noticing and…Takato felt his heart pick up even more as he remembered the doodle that he still had sitting in his notebook. That was also in plain sight! It looked like he was going to get a two for the price of one deal, and Jeri was going down with him.

_Aw nuts…_

Ms. Asagi approached his desk with smooth, measured steps. Each click of her shoes on the tiled floor almost perfectly emphasized by the growing silence of the room as the students watched her go, their sound reminding Takato a little of the way Rika's feet had sounded when he had caught her singing the day before Hanami. Never before had he wished that a digimon would bio-emerge and start wrecking havoc somewhere in the city. It would at least give him the perfect excuse to get out of Dodge. Nonetheless, fortune did not favor Takato that day, and within three more steps, Ms. Asagi loomed over the poor Tamer like some kind of Giant out of Norse lore. His doom was sealed.

"Well Takato," said Ms. Asagi in a voice that was much too calm for Takato's liking. It made him break out in a cold sweat. "I can see that you have something going on here that seems to be far more interesting to you then the assignment you were _supposed_ to read last night. Would you care to share with us what that might be?"

Takato felt his face heating up, but the temperature of his body was offset by the cold perspiration that crawled down his back, making him shiver a little as he fought to beat back his embarrassment.

"Um…no Ms. Asagi," Takato stuttered, feeling his heart rate increase exponentially. He wondered if she was going to take Jeri's note and read it at the front of the class. She didn't seem like the type of teacher who would, but one could never know for sure. This _was_ Ms. Asagi after all.

Ms. Asagi, not looking the least bit amused, held out her hand, the gesture carrying as much weight as Yamaki, the man whom he _unofficially_ worked for. Sighing in defeat, Takato handed the note to her (while at the same time, making sure that his doodle was also covered so as to avoid further trouble with his teacher). Ms. Asagi glanced at the piece of paper and raised an eyebrow in bemusement and…was that a small ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips? Takato, in his exasperated mental condition could not tell. He already had enough on his mind as it was.

Ms. Asagi finally folded the piece of paper up and stuck it in her blouse's left pocket before looking back at Takato with the unreadable, stone expression that was her trademark.

"Let me remind you one more time Takato, and the same goes to all of you, that the school rules do not smile upon the passing of notes to other students. I don't think I need to remind you of the reasons thereof but just so we're clear it serves as a distraction from learning. You can have this back at the end of the day Takato. _After_ you finish your essay on the _'Importance of Doing Homework'._"

Takato groaned inwardly as he slumped down in his desk, already feeling the weight of the day's hours on his young shoulders.

"Yes Ms. Asagi."

* * *

"So tell me Jeri," said Kazu that afternoon as the Tamers, minus one Takato, exited the front doors of Shinjuku elementary and made their way towards the gates. "That whole business with you passing a note to Takato earlier today; was that your attempt to get in trouble so that Ms. Asagi could give you detention with him? Pretty slick I've gotta say…" 

Jeri blushed deeply as she pulled the schoolbooks that she had been holding closer to her.

"I-It's not like that…at least, I didn't intend it to be that way…"

"Your crazier then a Fruit Bat Jeri," chuckled Kazu. "C'mon, everyone knows that you two are crazy about each other. Fess up! It'll be easier for you if you do. At least then you'd have Kenta and me trying to help hook you two up instead of just teasing you about it."

"Yeah," said Kenta with a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "The way you two act around each other it's pretty obvious. And it wasn't all that long ago that Kazu and I were helping Takato get the courage to ask you if you wanted to watch the Sakura blossoms with him…"

Henry raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly at the puppet-loving girl who was presently blushing a deep, crimson color as they neared the school's gates.

"Somehow I'm pretty sure that Jeri and Takato don't need any encouragement…"

"I don't know about that Henry," giggled a certain long eared digimon as he hopped down from a tree branch that lay just outside of the school grounds and clambered up onto Henry's shoulder. "Takato was quite the lady killer at the Hanami celebration, or did you forget all about that?"

"Terriermon," sighed Henry so predictably. "I hardly see how Takato buying Rika and Jeri ice cream counts…"

"You're right," countered Terriermon, smiling humorously. "But Rika holding his hand after that Frisbee game does."

"Huh? Time out!" said Kazu making a _T_ sign with his hands. "Chumley actually _bought_ Rika ice cream?_ And_ lived to tell about it? When did this happen?"

"During Hanami," murmured Jeri, seeming to shrink into herself as she tried to hide her ever-reddening face. "Um…we met up with Rika there before you guys showed up and I…invited her to tag along. Takato bought us both ice cream…"

Kazu and Kenta had halted in their tracks, both awestruck by this revelation. They had been made witness to a number of strange instances the day that Takato had first asked Jeri out to Hanami, one of which being the dragging a confession out of Guilmon about Takato catching Rika singing in the park (something that they had so far managed to keep to themselves much to their own amazement), but this just about knocked them off their feet. As one, the two boys turned their heads to look at each other, fearful looks on their faces.

"Dude. That's…" Began Kazu in a voice that was distant.

"…Just wrong," finished up Kenta, his own tone border lining on fainting from shock.

Henry didn't know what was going through their minds at this moment, but he had a funny feeling that he wasn't going to think that it was good. Kazu and Kenta, being who they were, were notorious for leaping to conclusions and shortly afterwards flying off the handle. Henry gave a look at Terriermon that said, _'this is your fault you know'._ Terriermon looked back with an expression of pure innocence as he fiddled with his tiny thumbs and giggled.

Kazu and Kenta, in tune with their motions both looked at Jeri with a weird look that made the brown haired girl want to take a step backwards.

"Um…guys?" She began nervously, only to be interrupted by Kazu as he took on a commanding tone and struck a pose that looked like it was supposed to be awe inspiring.

"Don't worry Jeri! Whatever it takes, we'll make sure that you and Chumley will get hooked up! Digimon Queen notwithstanding!"

"Um…Kazu?" Began Kenta, losing some of the synchronicity that he first shared with his friend. "We don't even know if Rika even feels that way for Takato. I mean, come on…"

"_Come on?_ Don't give me _come on_, bud! How many people act the way that she was around Chumley when we were all at Hanami?"

_How many people have dreams about someone before they even meet them?_ Jeri's mind whispered but she brushed the thought aside almost as soon as it came, and her amber eyes hardened as the two Tamers continued their argument unabated.

"I'm starting to think that you're losing your connection with reality…"

"But we've gotta do all we can to help Jeri…"

"You two will do _nothing_ of the sort!" Said Jeri in a firm voice as she glared at Kazu and Kenta. Everyone turned to stare at the brunette with wide, surprised eyes, stunned at the hard tone that she carried in her voice. Kazu felt the urge to flinch when seeing Jeri level her gaze on him. Something about the way she looked…it reminded him of Ms. Asagi on her worst days, and it was times like that that it was best to tread lightly and go soft.

_Obviously I just hit on a rather touchy subject,_ Kazu thought as he felt his face heat up slightly in shame.

Jeri gave them another withering glare before resuming in her berating of the two boys.

"You two won't do anything, got it? You don't know for sure about _anything_ of what's going on between Takato, Rika, and me, and you're wrong to assume these things and think that you know what's best for us! If Rika likes Takato then she deserves to have a shot at trying to capture his heart _without any interference_, and the same goes for me. To you that may sound like a defeatist attitude, but Rika and Takato are our friends. If they ever do develop something between them then they should be encouraged just as much as you've been encouraging Takato to…uh…be with me."

Kazu and Kenta relaxed visibly when they heard Jeri stutter on that last bit, feeling as though the _angry Jeri_ was moving back a bit and the girl that they had been friends with for the past few years had returned. There were times where Jeri surprised them. She was usually not as outspoken as most of the girls that they had known, being somewhat meek if not eccentric and could be so sweet about it too, but every now and then she would let loose a side of herself that was direct and took no nonsense from anybody, even Rika. It had a way of surprising all of them.

_Leomon was right,_ thought Kazu as he looked into the fierce, amber eyes of Jeri Katou. _She's got the heart of a lion…_

"So…" began Kenta as he licked his lips nervously. "Does that mean that we can't set you two up?"

Jeri blinked in surprise before giving a slight huff and bringing her school supplies up to her chest. Not giving the two boys an answer, Jeri resumed her walk and began to giggle lightly in a way that unnerved the three boys and one digimon.

After a few seconds, Terriermon chipped in his two cents.

"Man, I wish I had some popcorn for this."

And like the thunder following lightning…

"Mmmnnn…Terriermon…"

* * *

7 


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 8

_Well, this is certainly a pickle,_ thought Takato as he stared out the window, watching the sun as it slowly made its way towards the western horizon. _Oh man, I hope that whatever it was that Jeri wanted to talk to me about wasn't too important. I'd hate to have her wait around for too long just because I was dumb and forgot to do my homework._

Takato sighed dejectedly as he turned back to the essay that he was supposed to be writing for Ms. Asagi. He wasn't at all that far along into it. Just a couple paragraphs for what was supposed to be a page and a half. A glance up at the clock revealed that he was only fifteen minutes into his detention. Leaning his head into one hand Takato tapped the end of his pencil on the booklet that his teacher had given him, trying to find the inspiration to say something more, but found himself presently unable to do so. It seemed so stupid to write a page and a half on the subject of doing homework and its importance in a student's life. Personally he didn't see much reason to have homework at all except to make a kid's life difficult. The page and a half also seemed a little bit extreme too. Why write so much about something when you could make a point about it in half the space and time?

_Certainly one of life's greatest mysteries,_ thought Takato sarcastically. _Maybe I can find a digignome around here somewhere and see if it can't turn me up a completed version of this essay. Yeah. And Terriermon will swear off wise cracks and become a saint. In my dreams._

_…_

_On second thought, better lay off on the dream jokes for a while. It's not healthy for me…_

Takato groaned inwardly as he began to once more doodle in an attempt to break up his writer's block and finish the assignment. It looked like it was going to be a _long_ afternoon.

_I just hope that Jeri's okay,_ the boy thought as his pencil aimlessly scribbled across the paper.

* * *

Jeri sat on a swing, her hands loosely holding the chain links as she watched Rika pound Kazu into the ground in yet another game of digimon while behind the visor-wearing boy Guardromon cheered on in encouragement, giving mostly useless advice while at the same time loudly pointing out potential moves that his partner had in his hand. Not exactly the subtlest of digimon, but Guardromon did have a good heart (or whatever the mechanical equivalent was for a robot) and tended to be the more logical of the duo. Well, with the exception of the card game as he wouldn't stop talking about the sheer _awesomeness_ of Kazu's skills and whatever dastardly plan he was setting in motion. Not that they would have made a difference when combating Rika of course. Few players came as good as she did, and even fewer were able to defeat her in a match.

Jeri giggled lightly as she watched Kazu throw up his hands in irritation as Guardromon ruined yet another, perfectly good move by talking about it before it could even be unleashed while Rika shook her head in silent bemusement at their antics, an expression that was matched by Henry, Terriermon, Kenta, and MarineAngemon as they watched the match unfold.

Rika had arrived at the playground area of the park not to long after they did, it having become something of a regular meeting place for them as it had more room for them all to romp around in comparison to Guilmon's shed (when considering Guardromon's size this was an important fact to take into consideration), and since knowledge of digimon had become more common place few held any worries about hiding their partners from prying eyes. The only ones who still maintained their wariness was Takato (though only when going to areas where Guilmon wasn't as well known) and Renamon, who in tune with her warrior instincts preferred to follow her partner at a discrete distance and remain unobserved by the human eye. It was understandable from Jeri's point of view. Not everyone looked kindly on the existence of digimon. There were still a few concerned parents in Shinjuku who refused to let their children play with Guilmon, MarineAngemon, or even Calumon despite their obvious friendliness. Jeri felt that that kind of reaction was understandable too. After all, digimon were well known for causing havoc within the city, and the D-Reaper and Parasimon invasions were still far to fresh in everyone's minds to forget easily. A little bit of wariness was important because of that.

The sound of Guilmon groaning from his spot on the ground next to her caught Jeri's attention. Smiling softly the brown haired girl reached down and gave a light pat on the top of the red dino's head. Guilmon had been a little depressed when he found out that Takato had been stuck in detention again, and until he saw him again there was very little that could cheer him up and that included the promise of Guilmon bread, a fact that had left everyone in stunned amazement and Terriermon checking the sky to see if meteors were raining from the sky to deliver doom upon them all. Returning her gaze back to the match ahead of her Jeri remembered Rika's own disappointment when she learned that Takato had remained at school. It wasn't anything completely obvious, and it was certainly a far cry from Guilmon's own disappointment over the matter but it did seem like a lively light had gone out in the red headed Tamer's eyes upon discovering that Takato wasn't around for her to thrash. Or maybe she was reading too much into things, a product of her having overheard Rika's conversation with Renamon back during the Hanami celebration. Much like Kazu was reading too much into Takato's buying of ice cream for the Digimon Queen (a fact that Jeri herself still found funny despite present circumstances). Kazu had unwisely remarked on Rika's _disappointment_, and subtly hinting at her reasons for being that way.

Jeri had to say that she was mildly surprised when Rika, rather then get angry instead promptly told Kazu that he was obviously drawing the wrong conclusions from his observations. Jeri found it somewhat interesting that not only did she pick up on what Kazu was getting at in record time, but hadn't gotten angry over it. But again, Jeri wondered if she was reading too much in her friend's actions.

_I'm starting to sound a little bit jealous,_ thought Jeri as she looked down at the ground and kicked at it with her feet. A familiar, kitsune shaped shadow materialized next to her as she did so.

"Something troubling you, Jeri?" Asked Renamon as she walked up to the young girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jeri blushed lightly as her grip on the swing tightened

"W-what do you mean?" Jeri stuttered as she felt her face burn even hotter.

Renamon didn't answer at first, and instead simply looked down at Guilmon who was still moping from his place on the ground. Renamon seemed to be contemplating whether or not it was appropriate to discuss whatever was on her mind with the crimson reptile in earshot. After a few seconds she spoke again, apparently deciding that Guilmon would be fine where he was.

"You seem to be agitated about something. I've observed humans long enough to know when something upsets them no matter how hard they try to hide it. Normally it's not my place to involve myself in someone else's affairs but I have noticed that you've been keeping a close eye on Rika ever since she and I arrived and you've been somewhat distant as well…"

Renamon let the sentence drift, letting her silence speak for itself while Jeri composed herself.

"Well…maybe a little," whispered Jeri and Renamon squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"You're still wondering about what you learned during the Hanami celebration," said Renamon stating it as though it were a fact. Jeri swallowed and nodded.

"I am. I've been thinking about it for quite a while now. Maybe it's just silly of me to do so since that conversation you and I had but I can't seem to get it out of my head. I think about some of the things that Takato and Rika have done for each other, the way that they've acted around each other and I can't help but wonder sometimes…and then there's the dream that Takato had about Rika before he ever met her…"

"Jeri," interrupted Renamon. "Do you remember what we talked about before back during the Hanami celebration?"

Jeri nodded reluctantly.

"Do you still feel that because Takato had a dream about Rika, that it should have any importance about how the three of you conduct your personal affairs?"

Jeri looked down at the ground.

"Sometimes," she answered softly. "Sometimes I wonder about it. It seems so weird thinking about it. Digimon aside, it's not the sort of thing that you hear about everyday. Sometimes it makes me think that there's something special about Takato that sets him apart from the rest of us."

"Is that bad?" Asked Renamon raising an eyebrow in something that could be taken for amusement as she remembered Takato and Guilmon's transformation into Gallantmon's Crimson Mode during the Parasimon invasion, and before that when she and Rika had noticed something happening to him during the final battle with D-Reaper. They had been too far away to tell what was going on then, but they seemed to be _glowing_. Takato hadn't mentioned much about his mode change then beyond _Grani helping_, and only confirmed it in full detail after Rika's birthday party. As though she were thinking the same thing Jeri smiled and shook her head.

"No. It's more the opposite in fact. Of course," Jeri giggled. "He'd be special anyway, but him having a dream about Rika feels to me like it has something more to it. I know you and Rika say that we all choose our own destiny, and I believe it too, but…" Jeri's gaze went back to a certain red headed Tamer as she smiled triumphantly over Kazu as he wailed in displeasure over yet another defeat at the hands of the Digimon Queen. "…What if Takato's destiny is to be with Rika?"

Renamon looked at the brown haired girl impassively for a moment before looking up at the sky.

"Only if you decide to let it be that way Jeri," said the vulpine digimon as she folded her arms across her chest. "You don't know for sure how things are going to turn out and you are putting far too much weight on Takato's dream, anticipating things that might or might not happen in the future. Regardless of whatever Takato's dream about Rika means, and it could mean many things, there is one constant that you must keep in mind and that's your ability to choose. You can either choose to let Takato go or not, just like they have the ability to choose to be with each other or not. A simple dream does not change that, and knowing Rika she would prefer to have the choice rather then let a mere dream do the deciding for her."

Renamon let a small smile appear on her face and she looked down at Jeri, feeling a sense of relief as she saw that she shared the same humor in her estimation of Rika's desire to choose her destiny.

"Yeah. You're right about that," said Jeri, grinning. A second later the grin vanished and was replaced by a contemplative expression. After a few seconds she spoke again.

"I am curious about one thing though, and I know that it's rude of me to ask and that you did answer it during Hanami but…I would like to know if you have an idea as to what Rika feels for Takato, if they've changed at all since we last talked about this."

Renamon frowned slightly, not sure if that was something that she wanted to answer. She was aware that there were…_differences_ in the way Rika interacted with Takato ever since the Hanami celebration but they were mostly subtle clues and difficult to notice and even harder to interpret. She had considered approaching Jeri about it not to long ago so as to try and get a better understanding of the emotions that her partner might be experiencing, if what she suspected was the case that is. She had decided against it in the end as she felt that doing so could potentially lead to the sort of difficulties that Jeri was experiencing now and she didn't want Jeri to make a decision that she felt was out of her hands. As vixen thought about this a memory of Rika singing her song to Takato in the park entered her mind and her azure gaze settled on her partner as she collected her cards and began to reshuffle, this time with Henry as her next opponent. It seemed so strange that she would do such a thing for Takato, and even stranger that he would ask it of her. Perhaps not as odd as the thought of Takato dreaming about Rika before even meeting her but there it was. And then there was that new light that she saw in Rika's eyes ever since that day in the park. It was a small light now, but if it were what she thought it was, would it grow? And if she told Jeri her suspicions how would that affect her? Renamon looked over at Jeri, her eyes wide, curious, and imploring the vulpine to tell her the truth.

Renamon shook her head.

"I don't know," said Renamon. "I have my suspicions and doubts, but none of those can make anything in regards to what Rika feels for Takato certain and she hasn't discussed it with me. Besides, this is something that is best discussed between you and Rika only. As her friend, it would be better."

Jeri chewed her lower lip as she cast her eyes back towards the ground. Renamon once more placed a comforting paw on her friends shoulder.

"I…I guess that I already knew that, but…I'm scared Renamon. What would happen if I forced the issue? Rika's my friend, and…"

Jeri gripped the chain links of her swing harder as she found herself unable to continue pouring out her fears to the vulpine digimon. For the first time Renamon noticed that throughout all of this Guilmon had not moved or said a thing about what he had heard, but instead continued to stay where he was, no expression except a sad contemplation on his face revealing a single thing about what he was thinking. Renamon narrowed her eyes as she looked at the dinosaur but for the moment said nothing. A talk with him later would suffice.

"I don't think that you have to worry about that Jeri, but should you decide to discuss this with her it would be wise not to be confrontational about it."

"I know."

Jeri fell silent once more as she thought things over. Time passed, and after a few minutes Renamon came to the realization that Jeri needed to be alone now and she faded from view, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. Jeri mouthed a silent _'thank you'_ as she went back over the events from the Hanami celebration and some of her own fears, suspicions, beliefs, and what she had said in regards to her two friends Takato and Rika. Despite what she had said to Kazu earlier she wondered if she was a little bit jealous. She knew that she'd be happy for them if they did get together and that they should be encouraged in such an event. That was just how she was. She couldn't bring herself to hate anyone for the happiness that they had which was why seeing Impmon with his Tamers and the look of joy on his face never bothered her. But she wondered if the idea of Takato dreaming about Rika made things different between them, as though they shared something that she wasn't a part of and in that way made Rika more special in Takato's life then she herself could ever be. When she had been making her way home after her first outing with Takato at the Sakura Trees she had thought a lot about their relationship, and remembered quite well that crushes don't often last, especially at the age that she was. She remembered a crush that she had once during the first grade. Of course she was much younger then and the circumstances were completely different to the here and now but that did not change the fact that she and her friends were growing up. Feelings and emotions could change over time and her own destiny was taken in a different direction from what she thought it would be.

Where did she fit into things now? She couldn't fight alongside her friends, and she couldn't protect them the way that they protected each other in battle. She enjoyed hanging out with them but…

Jeri sighed.

_Maybe I'm thinking too hard,_ Jeri thought as she leaned her chin on the top of her hands, huffed a little in irritation and closed her eyes, hoping to lose herself and thereby reorganize her thoughts so that she could get a better perspective on things. And she knew that she would need to if she were to…

"Jeri?"

Jeri's amber eyes snapped open in surprise as she saw Rika standing in front of her, looking at her with a concerned expression on her face.

"Rika?!" Jeri said a little too quickly. "Hi! Um…what are you…?"

"I was getting bored listening to Kazu go on about his constantly losing to me so I figured I'd come on over and see what was up. You've been over here for a while now and you look like you could use a friend right now." Rika walked over to the next nearest swing and sat down in it, leaning forwards a bit and giving the impression that she was now the epitome of the patient, listening ear. Rika gave a brief glance at Guilmon before looking over at Jeri.

"So why the face?"

Jeri dug the toe of her foot into the ground nervously as she thought about how to answer that.

"Oh…it's…it's nothing…"

"Uh-huh. Right. I'm going to go out on a limb here so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but this wouldn't happen to be about Takato would it?"

Jeri's face turned cherry red as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ah! Um…ah…"

"Thought so. You want to talk about it?"

"I…I don't know," said Jeri feeling a great amount of uncertainty flooding her mind. She wasn't ready to handle this now. She wasn't prepared. But then, she realized, she probably wouldn't ever be. All that was left was the decision to either talk about her worries, or not. "Maybe…"

Guilmon, as if sensing that the conversation was best left between the two females sniffed the air, got to his feet and trotted over to where the others were. Jeri and Rika watched him go for a few seconds before returning to their heart to heart.

"So what did Renamon have to say?" Asked Rika finally, a little bit more bluntly then she meant, but she harbored no hard feelings that whatever it was that was on Jeri's mind she had chosen to talk to Renamon about it. Truth be told, it made her feel as though Renamon were more a part of their group instead of being a digimon partner. It felt more natural that way.

Jeri didn't answer right away, and from Rika's point of view seemed to be retreating a bit. Feeling a little a mixture of exasperation and compassion for the girl that she counted as one of her closest human friends Rika reached over and placed a hand over one of Jeri's, earning a surprised gasp from the girl.

"Jeri," began Rika calmly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you shouldn't act as if I'm going to throttle you over whatever is on your mind. We're friends, so you should know that whatever you have on your mind you can tell me."

Jeri smiled slightly; still unsure if she wanted to talk about this with her just yet, but at the same time she didn't want Rika to feel as though she were being left out of something important.

_Maybe…_

"How could you tell? That I was worried about Takato I mean?"

Rika gave a good-natured smirk as she brought her hand away from Jeri's.

"It's pretty obvious with the way that you two have been acting around each other lately. I'd blame Gogglehead for it if I didn't know any better. You've been a little out of sorts ever since that day during Hanami. Takato's been worried about you because of that you know."

"H-He is?"

"Why wouldn't he be, Jeri? He just respects your need to privacy enough to not go bothering you too much until you want to talk. He's weird like that sometimes. Either he tries too much to get involved in something and solve a problem for you or he takes too far of a step back."

Jeri gave a small smile remembering that was one of Takato's qualities that she liked the most.

"Yeah. He's a good guy isn't he?"

"Yeah," replied Rika, her smirk transforming into a smile that Jeri could only describe as being _radiant_ despite its small size. It almost seemed to light up her face. "Yeah, he is."

Silence hung between them for a few more seconds.

"You're not going to tell me what's wrong are you?"

Jeri didn't meet Rika's gaze as she felt shame course through her heart.

"I'm sorry Rika, it's just…_complicated._ I'd like to tell you, and I will someday but…I just need some time to think about it, that's all."

Rika regarded Jeri for a moment, her gaze scrutinizing before she turned away and gave a light _hmmph._

"You know, the way you said that one would almost think that _I_ was involved in this too," the red haired Tamer muttered sarcastically, the statement making Jeri jump a little in shock. Jeri fumbled with the corners of her dress as she took that in, her heart pounding a fast, nervous pace in her chest. A thought came to her and she seized onto it like a lifeline, not at all sure why she had done so and in a way it scared her even more. Nonetheless, the girl took a deep breath and readied herself to dive into the metaphorical abyss.

_Now or never…_

"What if you are?" Jeri said weakly, causing Rika's face to whirl about in surprise. Time seemed to stand still as they looked at each other, shock etched into both of their faces.

"What did you say?" Rika said quietly, her tone plainly evident that she had not been expecting that at all.

Jeri looked away, feeling her face flush in shame as she gripped onto the swing sets chains all the harder. Rika took a moment to reprocess what she had heard before speaking again.

"You can't be serious! That's just…you've…" Rika stumbled over her sentences as she tried to find a bit of coherency in what she was trying to say before looking at Jeri's face once again. "You _are _serious, aren't you?"

Jeri nodded slowly.

"Why?"

Jeri blinked. "Wha…?"

"Why'd you think that…that I was at all interested in Takato?"

Jeri bit her lower lip.

"Remember when I teased you about Ryo during the Hanami celebration, when we met up with Henry's family? You went off into a patch of Sakura trees and…I was going to apologize about that and…I…happened to hear your conversation with Renamon." Jeri saw Rika's eyes widen at that revelation. "I heard a lot of things then. Things that I don't think I was supposed to know…like Takato's dream about you."

Rika's mouth worked in an attempt to say something. _Anything._

Alas, it was all in vain.

Jeri continued.

"And I couldn't help but think about what that could have meant. And there were some of the other things that you said about Takato, like how he confused you over some of the things that he's done. I'll admit that he can be a bit goofy sometimes…"

"Jeri…"

"…And…huh?"

Rika swallowed, but didn't say anything right away. She had expression on her face that Jeri couldn't quite place, and that made her worried. A tension seemed to fall between the two friends as they sat on the swings. Rika's mind was awhirl with confusion. This was a lot of information to take in all at once and she wasn't too sure how to approach this from there. The fact that Jeri had overheard the conversation that she had with her partner, and not only that had actually _learned_ about the dream that Takato had about her…

…It kind of disturbed her.

_I haven't thought about that dream in a long time,_ thought Rika as she nudged her foot on the ground, pushing the swing backwards so that its chain squeaked as it moved. _I can't remember the last time I even thought about it seriously. Takato was just a goofy, weird kid in those days. I didn't imagine that I would be as involved in his life the way I am now…as his friend. Funny how things work out…_

_But how do I talk about that with Jeri…when I don't even understand it myself?_

Rika frowned.

"Tell me that you don't think that stupid dream even _means_ what I think you're thinking…"

"But…what if it doe…?"

"Jeri? I think that we should clear the air about a few things here. Takato and I…we're just friends, okay? You shouldn't have to worry about that, and it's not worth dwelling on anyways…"

Jeri shook her head. This was _not_ how she wanted the conversation to be going right now. But then, she didn't exactly want to have it to begin with.

"…As for that dream…I don't know what that was about. I don't usually have a clue what goes through that weird head of his anyway. His dreams _least _of all and I'm not too interested in finding out anything more about that particular one."

Jeri's face snapped up to Rika's, eyes wide.

_What…?_

"You're not…?"

Rika shook her head.

"No. I'm not. It hasn't been an issue in all the time that we've been friends…well, except for once but I wouldn't exactly have called us _friends_ then. At any rate, it's not an issue now, and it shouldn't concern you. I'm still surprised that you even thought that _I _thought of Takato in _that_ way just because of that stupid dream."

Jeri blinked.

"So…you don't…? But…what you told Renamon during Hanami…"

Rika turned toward Jeri, her expression unreadable.

"Look. I was a bit upset at the time. And…maybe a little bit confused too. I…"

Rika paused and raised an eyebrow.

"Just _how _much did you overhear anyway?"

Jeri blushed again.

"Um…I know that Takato asked you to go cherry blossom watching with him on your birthday. Something about you not liking surprises."

Rika looked away, closing her eyes as a light shade of red crossed her cheeks. Jeri found herself faintly amused by it.

"Hmmph. That's right. The stupid Gogglehead blabbed about your surprise party over the phone and he was trying to apologize to me. Sometimes it's like his mouth can't catch up with his brain and he just says the first thing that makes sense. Not like it made sense to begin with but…well…it was just a little weird being with you and Takato that day. It almost felt like we _were_ going to watch the cherry blossoms…"

Jeri suddenly giggled, and all of a sudden the tension that had been building up between them began to lessen.

"That's what you were doing actually," Jeri teased. Rika scowled.

"Not funny. What I meant was he actually _forgot_ about the whole thing after that Parasimon business, and then having to go to Hanami with you two…"

"I know," interrupted Jeri. "I've…given that a lot of thought since then. I'm a little bit sorry about it. I mean, since you don't normally like that kind of thing but it was fun having you around."

"It was," said Rika, smiling in remembrance. "All things considered, it was. I don't regret it."

Another pall of silence fell between them for a brief moment as the two girls collected their thoughts.

"So…you don't care about Takato in that way?" Asked Jeri tentatively.

"What did I just get finished saying Jeri?" Said Rika with a hint of annoyance as she looked over at her friend. Amber met amethyst, and for a second it seemed like Rika's eyes were trapped in Jeri's, as though the brunette's gaze drove to will an honest answer to her question. Rika felt as though she wanted to pull away but forced herself not to. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jeri looked away, a thoughtful expression and, strangely enough, a smile on her face.

"You know, if you do like Takato, I wouldn't have a problem with it," said Jeri as she slowly rocked her swing back and forth. Rika furrowed her brow, silently mouthing the words that Jeri had spoken. It looked as though that she were about to challenge Jeri on that assertion when the girl came to a stop and got up from the swing.

"When you see Takato next time," said Jeri. "Tell him that I said _hi_. And that I'll talk to him tomorrow."

Rika cocked an eyebrow as she got up from her own seat.

"I'm pretty sure that you can tell him that on your own. I mean he's only in detention…"

Jeri shook her head.

"My dad wanted me to be home early to help out at the restaurant tonight. I wanted to talk to Takato before then but…well, you know. But I'd really appreciate it if you told him for me."

Rika frowned but nodded. She wasn't at all too sure what to make of Jeri's attitude right now. Heck, she wasn't sure what to make of _anything_ that had gone on between them just now. Of all the things that she had expected this certainly wasn't one of them.

All right. I guess that this is something that we'll just have to postpone until later, because you owe me one _big_ explanation for all this. I don't think that even _Kazu_ has ever confused me this much."

Jeri smiled but didn't leave just yet. Rubbing one arm uncertainly Jeri looked down at the ground.

"Um…Rika? We're still friends right? I mean, I'm sorry that I acted this way…it's not normally like me…"

Rika just smirked and placed a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder.

"You even have to ask? Come here…"

Rika pulled Jeri into a hug, and the brown haired girl returned it gratefully. They held the hug for about a minute before pulling away. Jeri sniffed, realizing that she had been crying a little out of fear of losing Rika's friendship over something as silly as this. It seemed so stupid looking back on it now…

Jeri and Rika made their goodbyes, and after doing the same to the others Jeri ran off down the twisted paths of the park, making her way home. Rika watched her go for a moment before walking back to the others and sitting herself down with them beneath the dinosaur hut, feeling strangely exhausted for some reason. Rika leaned back against a leg and closed her eyes. She could feel the gazes of her friends as they watched her expectantly.

"Well? What?" She asked, not even bothering to open her eyes to confirm her suspicions. She _knew_ that they clearly expected some kind of explanation. She wasn't all that surprised when Henry spoke up.

"Was everything all right over there?"

"Everything's _fine._ Just…a little complicated. Jeri had a few questions that she wanted to ask and it took her a while to get around to asking them, that's all."

"It sure looked rather intense, whatever it was," said Terriermon, sarcasm strangely absent from his voice. Rika shrugged it off. Any day that she didn't have to deal with one of his bad jokes was a good day in her book.

"I'm sure that it had something to do with Takato," said Kazu. "Though I have to say, the way that they looked over there you'd think that Rika was involved in some way that was _more_ then just a listening ear…"

Rika frowned mentally. There was something in the way that he said that that she didn't like. It almost sounded like an implication.

Second time too… 

"Kazu," began Rika in a soft, warning tone. "Whatever it is that you've got going through your mind right now let me tell you just now that you're already _way_ off base. I'd advise you to watch what you say in the future because you're already on thin ice as it is."

While Rika tuned out Kazu's exclamations to the contrary Rika turned her mind back over what she had said about him being off base, what she had told Jeri, and what Jeri had told her.

_"If you do like Takato, I wouldn't have a problem with it…"_ whispered the ghost of her conversation with the puppet loving girl. Rika pushed the thought away to the back of her mind…

…But with memories of Hanami, and her conversation with Jeri still fresh in her mind, she wondered.

* * *

12 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 9

_Finally,_ breathed Takato mentally as he finished putting the finishing touches on his essay and got up from his desk, relief flooding his body like a refreshing breeze of spring air. Glancing over at the window that he had been sitting next to for the day Takato took note of the position of the sun. It was starting to set. It wouldn't be long before the sky began to take on a golden orange hue to it. Takato frowned at the dark clouds that were starting to group together in the sky. Was there going to be rain tonight? Takato couldn't rightly recall if his mother of father had mentioned it before he left the bakery that morning. Certainly none of his friends said anything about it (or gave an indication that they knew one was coming, as they were lacking the presence of umbrellas) but then again the weather was a rare topic of conversation between them. It was usually the sort of thing that Terriermon would bring up whenever things got boring, and usually to annoy Rika, as she was not one who enjoyed conversations that began that way.

_Even if I don't get caught out in the rain I'm going to be getting home pretty late. Maybe if I run I can get home before it gets dark out. Maybe I can say that a digimon attack held me up. Well…probably not. Aw nuts! That reminds me that Guilmon's waiting for me at the playground! He's probably hungry! Knowing him he'll have finished off that bag of bread I gave him this morning before I even got to school! He's going to be hungry! But then again when is he __**not**__ hungry? Aggghhh…maybe one of the others picked him up something to eat…_

"Are you done with your essay, Takato?" Called out Ms. Asagi from her desk, snapping the boy out of his thoughts and causing his face to heat up slightly at having been caught lost in thought…again.

"Ah! Um…yeah! Yeah, I'm done, Ms. Asagi," said Takato as he picked up his essay booklet and walked over to where his teach sat, handing it to her. Taking it, the brown haired teacher began thumbing through it, glancing only briefly at the rather hastily scribbled words at the end (owing in some measure to Takato's desire to finish the essay before it got too late out) before looking up at the boy and nodding to him in satisfaction.

"Now I hope you learned your lesson this time about the importance of completing your homework Takato," said Ms. Asagi. "And in the future please try to remember it so that you don't end up in this situation again."

"Yes, Ms. Asagi. I understand," replied Takato, smiling inwardly. In a way Takato knew that Ms. Asagi meant well, even if her assignments could be brutal and her punishments for breaking a school rule (even by accident) could be a little bit harsh (at least so far as students like Kazu were concerned), but she was just upholding her own sense of right and wrong in the world. Takato remembered a time not too long after the events from when their digimon had returned from their exile to the digital world. Ms. Asagi had informed them that even though they were Tamers and had saved the city from certain destruction on multiple occasions, she would continue to expect their homework to be turned in _on time_ so that none of the other students would feel as though that they were being given special treatment.

_I distinctly recall Kazu complaining quite loudly about it that day,_ thought Takato.

"Good," said Ms. Asagi to Takato's affirmation of the lesson that he tended to learn most frequently during his time at school. "After all, Shinjuku would hate to be deprived of its knight in shining armor during a crisis because he had to make up a late assignment."

Takato's eyes widened in surprise at his teacher. Ms. Asagi looked at her pupil, a small smile gracing her features as she shook her head at Takato's dumbfounded expression.

"It was a joke Takato. Now you had best get going before it starts to get dark out."

Takato's mind suddenly went blank at what he had just heard. Ms. Asagi…making a joke? That…couldn't be…could it? Suddenly feeling that it would be best to just do what his teacher had bid him, Takato simply nodded his head numbly and, trying not to look hurried, went back to his desk and began to pack his bag. It didn't take him all that long to finish packing what was needed to be brought home. Ms. Asagi had been extra generous with her students today and had merely assigned some reading in history and a page of math questions, but not all that much beyond that. Lucky, especially since he was getting out of school later then he otherwise would have been, so there wasn't much of a chance of him missing any assignments the next day. Armed with that knowledge, Takato raced out of the school, taking care to not be caught by any teachers remaining in the building and soon escaped to the freedom of the park.

_Looks like everyone's gone,_ thought Takato as he neared the playground that had, of late, became their newest meeting ground for the morning. Lack of room at the old hideout prevented them from gathering there as much as they would have liked, but Takato wasn't overly concerned about it or the lack of his friends' presence. Aside from Guilmon he expected everyone to have gone home, as they had their own lives to take care of.

_Not to mention homework,_ smiled Takato, slowing down upon his approach to the dinosaur hut.

"Guilmon!" he called out, ducking into the entrance. "I'm sorry that I'm late! I— Aaah!!!"

Stumbling backwards in surprise, Takato banged the back of his head on the hut's roof and slid down to the floor, groaning in pain. As he did so, the source of his startling chuckled softly at him.

"Smooth, Takato…"

"Rika," Takato laughed back in return, honestly surprised, and quite grateful for it as well. "You're here!"

"Sure am," smirked the girl on the other side of the hut. "After everyone else went home, I thought I'd stick around and guard your things."

"You really didn't have to," smiled Takato, massaging the lump that was beginning to form on the back of his head. "I mean, I've left my things here plenty of times before and Guilmon was here…uh…right? Guilmon?"

"Up here, Takato!" came a muffled voice up in the small cave-like niche above where Rika sat. The crimson dinosaur poked his head out and offered the boy a goofy grin. "I thought I'd try climbing up here since Rika said she'd keep an eye on your cards." Guilmon's ears lilted a little as he continued. "You know that I have trouble getting into this place. It's so small, and I can't climb very well with my claws." Like a blow up clown rising after just being knocked down, Guilmon's face went back up to full-on sparkling happiness. "But I finally got up here!"

"After you fell down about a hundred times," grunted Rika in an amused tone. "It kind of got old after fifty."

"Well, Guilmon's never been known to give up on something once he sets his mind to it," said Takato. "Except when food gets his attention," he amended.

"Just when I thought he inherited one of your finer qualities," said Rika as she got to her feet and stretched as best as she could in the confines of the dinosaur hut. Takato stared at her, dumbfounded by the red haired girls compliment. It wasn't often that she handed those out, and when she did…

_This week's just full of weird things happening, isn't it?_ He thought, thinking back onto the first victory he had scored upon the legendary Digimon Queen.

"What's that look for?" asked Rika sharply, catching him watching her. In response Takato jerked, making a light squawking sound, and turned away. His cheeks burned, and he thanked whatever deity was out there watching over him for the growing cloud cover above them, as it darkened the hut just enough to prevent his blush from being seen.

_Sometimes…it feels like the universe just likes to trip me up in front of girls just to have a good laugh,_ thought Takato, fighting down the heat in his cheeks.

Looking back and forth between the two Tamers, Guilmon cocked his head to one side in confusion. He scratched one ear before speaking up.

"Takato. I'm confused."

"Uh…about what, boy?"

"Well, your face is getting all red and funny looking…"

Takato's eyes began to grow wide. _He saw that? _

"Guilmon," interceded Rika, quickly sensing that the topic of conversation was starting to go down a road that wouldn't be comfortable for anyone involved. "How about we drop the subject and get going, all right? I don't want to be here all night while Takato embarrasses himself." The violet-eyed girl fixed Guilmon with a fearsome gaze that would brook no argument from him, and Guilmon quieted.

"Mmm…okay," Guilmon moped, dropping his chin on the floor of the hut's niche, causing Rika to feel a little bit guilty for snapping at him the way she did. However, memories of her conversation with Jeri rang through her mind as strongly as they did an hour ago, and they refused to leave her alone.

Rika leaned against the huts wall, casting her gaze up at an open portal towards the gray sky above.

_Jeez. Just what happened back there?_ she wondered, thinking back to her conversation with Jeri by the swings. _And why did I decide to wait here for _Gogglehead_ to get here from his detention? It's not like he needs someone to hold his hand anyway, and he's right about one thing. Guilmon was here…even if his attention span disappears at the first sight of food…_

Rika sighed. Things were just not making any sense to her. Just what was going on in Jeri's mind that she should…say what she said to her. Rika's mind paused again, going over the conversation in her mind, taking in her friends words, still fresh to her even though they were little more than an hour ago.

_"If you do like Takato, I wouldn't have a problem with it…"_

Rika shuddered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself, berating herself for even having such thoughts in the first place. They were not the kind that she was used to having, but the time that had passed since the Hanami celebration, strange…feelings…were starting to settle in the back of her mind. She'd been aware of them, feeling them nestle within her and grow, but they were just that. Feelings.

Rika knew that there were boundaries that were not meant to be crossed when it came to things like friendship.

_I must really be losing it if I'm developing a 'crush' on Takato of all people._ Rika glanced up at the goggle-wearing boy and frowned. _And of course, he's got to be completely oblivious to it…just like he is with Jeri. Typical._

He was _still_ standing there, looking at her with a confused expression on his face. Rika felt like growling at him and tell him to get a move on. He had his cards, shouldn't he be going home now? She had places she had to go to—home for example—and schoolwork to get started on.

_Why the rush?_ A part of her asked. Before she could even begin to respond, Takato spoke up.

"Um…Are you okay, Rika?"

Rika blinked, half not expecting the question while simultaneously cursing herself for doing so in the first place. She had been staring at him and being quiet for a while now.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, turning away with a frown and a slight blush appearing on her face. "Don't you have somewhere to be, _little boy?"_

Takato frowned, taking in her change in attitude, which went from open and friendly to rather standoffish.

"I was just asking if you were all right? I mean, you weren't saying anything when I was asking if you were going to stay here or if you were going home and…um…well…"

"You were staring at him like he had peanut butter on his face," spoke up Guilmon as he hopped down from his little cubby.

"…Not exactly how I would have put it…"

"Sorry," Rika apologized, closing her eyes thoughtfully. "I just had a complicated day, that's all. I didn't think you would stick around for very long after getting your stuff."

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Takato, tilting his head to one side, suddenly curious. Rika shook her head, realizing that it was a foolish thing of her to say. Of course, Takato would stick around. He wasn't the sort of person who would up and leave without taking the time to talk to a friend.

_As long as the city wasn't being destroyed,_ thought Rika sarcastically. A distracting thought, but Rika felt it was a necessary one. Such thoughts kept her from focusing on…other matters. Namely one involving the boy that she was with.

"I guess I've just got a lot on my mind," said Rika, getting to her feet. "Anyway, I think it's about time I headed home and…" Her words ground to a halt as she felt something cold and wet land on her face, just beneath one eye. Turning up towards the portal above her with a scowl that could split trees, she groaned.

"Terrific. Rain."

With a sigh, she stepped off to the side. No sooner had she done so, rain began to pour through the portal, making a pitter patter sound on the concrete floor. Rika grimaced at it. For his part, Takato forced a smile onto his face, hoping to make the best out of a situation that, quite literally, dampened his day.

"Well…at least now you have a reason to have a rematch with me."

Rika raised an eyebrow at him, looking rather surprised by the suggestion before again turning away. A soft chuckle escaped her lips.

"Yeah…that's right. A rematch. I can't say that I'm in the mood for one. Today's just been a weird day."

"Well, we seem to have plenty of time," said Takato, setting his bag and box of cards down on the ground. Rika gave him a stern stare.

"What? Am I being psychoanalyzed now?"

Takato bit the inside of his cheeks and furrowed his brow.

"No," he replied. "I just thought that…you'd like to talk about it since it seems to be bothering. Sometimes me and Henry do that when we have to work something out. It helps."

Rika glanced to the side, hating herself for not opening up as she did at the end of Hanami, when she had sung her song to him. That had been a sure sign that their friendship had progressed far, as she never would have even _considered_ doing something like that for anyone, least of all Takato of all people.

_It's not like I don't want to tell him anything,_ thought Rika, and she was surprised to find the honesty in that thought. Lately, even before Hanami, she had been finding it easier to talk to him, venting her frustrations when she needed a human ear to bend. However, she knew that what was on her mind was not the sort of thing that she could just up and talk about. She recognized too easily the kinds of ramifications that could result because of a simple word. Consequences that Jeri, whether she knew it or not, had planted the seeds for in her own heart.

That kind of thinking though, it did not sit well with her. It felt as though she were running away. She didn't want to hurt Jeri, or put Takato 'on the spot' as it were by admitting to anything about what she had begun feeling for him…a fondness that was more than she knew it should be. Hanami may have been a little over a week ago, but it still stood out quite clearly in her mind. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that carefree, save perhaps when she biomerged with Renamon for the first time. When she became Sakuyamon, everything felt possible. When she played Frisbee with her friends in the park, it felt as though she already attained everything she wanted. Opening up to Takato felt as though she gained the last thing she wanted.

_A dream fulfilled, huh?_ She thought with a sense of quiet irony, contemplating Takato, the groups resident 'dreamer'.

Reflecting further, she remembered how Jeri had the courage to discuss her own worries on the matter. Did she have that same courage?

The sound of rain dripping down to the floor resonated with her thoughts as she mulled the issue around in her mind.

For Takato's part, he beheld the red-haired girl curiously, wondering just what was going through her mind. Briefly he wondered how many times he had been in this situation with her, sitting on the outside while she kept her own council. That of course became less of an issue as they began to work together and become friends, but there were always times where she would close up and not speak. Things were changing between them though…she opened up a lot more in the time since her birthday, especially after Hanami…

Takato found himself blushing as he remembered her singing to him. Out of all the things, he expected he never expected _that._ The idea of her agreeing to his request flew in the face of everything he knew about her.

_Now that I think about it…that's not a whole lot. I don't really know much about her. As far as I know, the only things that I do know is that she has a mom, grandmother, likes digimon, sings, and her father left when she was young. Other than that…_

Takato wanted to berate himself for that, but he knew that such thoughts were pretty much useless. For one, Rika would come down on him if she knew he was doing so, and for another they hadn't exactly known each other for very long, as opposed to Kenta, Kazu, and Jeri, whom he had known since early childhood.

_Then again, I know more about Henry than I do about Rika,_ he thought, scratching the back of his head idly. He felt that he was missing something. Something important in the way that she had been staring at him, like she was contemplating of something of great importance. What that was he couldn't tell, and since she wasn't speaking and he didn't want to push her any further than she was willing to talk…

_There's sunshine…_

The realization broke across Takato's thoughts quietly, a ripple that disturbed the surface of his mind. Looking up through the portal of the hut, Takato saw a sight that made his eyes widen in surprise. A rainbow. It shone through the hole while curiously rain continued to pour down as hard as it ever did, showing no signs of stopping. Unconsciously it brought to mind something that he had heard from his mother.

"A kitsune wedding…" he murmured, and Rika looked at him with a bewildered expression on her face.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm?" Takato looked at her questioningly before realizing he had spoken aloud. Feeling a little self-conscious, he rubbed the back of his head nervously before answering. "Oh, it's just something my mom told me when I was a kid. I'm sure you've probably heard it before. When it's raining and the sun is out a kitsune is getting married or something. I thought of it when I saw the rainbow outside."

Takato pointed to the portal, and Rika's violet eyes followed it. A slight frown fell over her face and she scoffed at it.

"It's a dumb story," she grumbled.

"Why do you say that?" Takato asked, surprised. "I kind of liked it when I first heard it."

"You would." Rika shook her head. "But I still think it's kind of dumb."

Takato pressed his lips together as he thought it over. He had to admit that the story was rather colored with romantic tones, which he tended to be a sucker for. Rika on the other hand…well, needless to say she tended to be quick to shut down any mention of the subject, especially when it involved her. There had been at least a couple exceptions that he knew of, one where before they had been friends where she teased him about 'being in love with her', and another much more recently and well after the start of their friendship when she encouraged him in his pursuit of Jeri.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," said Takato, offering the girl a small smile. Rika's replying scowl did not share the same playfulness that he had, and Takato shrank back from it. "Sorry," he coughed loudly. "I was just thinking about how much you've changed since we first met."

"I know what you meant," said Rika. "You said something a lot like that when we were going off to rescue Jeri. Remember?"

"Yeah," nodded Takato. "You said how you were tired of fighting."

"Wherever you go, there you are," agreed Rika. "Guess it was a kind of 'full circle' kind of thing. I didn't realize a lot of things back then, and was only just starting to. Things change. Not everything remains the same." Rika's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "…But…sometimes I think we're brought back to the starting point, just to realize that."

Takato tilted his head to one side, confused.

"What do you mean?"

Rika just placed her hands on her hips and glared at the rain through the portal. It continued to fall through, damping the hut's ground.

"Ugh. Is this rain _ever_ going to let up?"

Guilmon watched the rainbow through the portal, remembering the first time he had seen such a thing and how it had captivated him then. It had been the first lesson he had in learning how to reverse digivolve, though he wouldn't yet get the hang of it over the weeks that followed, having not noticed how his emotional state functioned alongside his digivolution. Looking at it, Guilmon thought about how, just as it did then and the many times he had seen rainbows since, the phenomenon continued to hold him with the same wonder he felt then. And this time it was during a rainstorm, where the clouds were becoming few and far between.

_Takato said that this was a special moment. A kitsune is getting married. And…_

Guilmon scrunched his face up in confusion before looking over at Takato.

"Takato? What's a kitsune?"

"Well…um…it's kind of like Kyubimon. A fox with nine tails. Only it's supposed to be magical."

"Oh." Guilmon tapped one claw against his chin. "Kitsune wedding…" his eyes suddenly lit up and he tugged at Takato's pants. "Takato? Does that mean Renamon is getting married?"

"Say whaaa…?" Takato blinked in stunned amazement before glancing over at Rika fearfully, wondering what her reaction would be, or even worse, Renamon's as she was likely to have overheard the conversation.

_And where is she anyway? I would have thought she'd have come in to get out of the rain._

"Guilmon…" replied Rika in an annoyed tone, closing her eyes. _"No one_ is getting married. And don't _you_ go getting any funny ideas either, Gogglehead."

"Funny ideas?"

"Forget it. It looks like the rain is starting to let up." Rika indicated the absence of the sound of rain.

"Oh." Takato got up and collected his things. "Well…um…I guess this is where we separate, huh?"

"Yeah…" Rika hesitated and then glanced at Takato. "Hey. This weekend…do you have any free time?"

"Huh?" Takato's eyebrows shot up. Before Rika could become annoyed at his utter cluelessness, he stammered onwards. "Y-You mean…like…a…a date?"

The question had escaped his lips before he even realized what he was saying, and silence hung between them with a pregnant pause.

"Just when I told you to not get any weird ideas…"

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just that the question…never mind. Yeah, I have some free time, but I don't think Henry is going to be available. He said something to me earlier about doing something with his dad and…"

"That's fine," shrugged Rika. "And before you can even bring up the moron twins, I'm going to say 'no' to that. I just…" Rika paused, knowing how her next words were going to sound. "…want it to be the two of us."

"Ahhh…"

"Takato?"

"Huh? Ah! Yeah! I mean, yeah. I'll be there. I'll call you or…uh…"

"Tell you what. Why don't we give your brain a chance to calm down and I'll give you a call later this week and we'll figure things out from there." Rika was about to leave when she thought of something and looked back at him again. "This is 'as friends', understand? No funny business."

"Uh…right."

The two held each other's gazes for a moment before Rika departed, a curious expression on her face. Takato watched her go, a dumbfounded one on his own as he processed what had just happened. For the strangest reason the memory of the dream he had earlier this week flashed through his mind, almost distracting him from Guilmon's urgent tugging on his shirt.

"Huh? What's up, Guilmon?"

"Shouldn't we be going home before it rains again?"

"Yeah," Takato nodded, his eyes taking on an almost distant look as he watched Rika disappear down a park path, the vulpine form of Renamon phasing into view briefly as she followed her. "This is going to be weird…"

Guilmon looked at his partner, his face a mixture of worry and curiosity.

"Ahhh…kitsune wedding?" the crimson reptile asked aloud, remembering the conversation between Jeri and Rika that he overheard. Takato looked at him, not understanding his fixation on the story, and frowned.

"Guilmon…"

* * *

A/N: It's been a little over two years since I last updated this fic, having been focusing on 'Less than Human' during that entire time, but now that it's finished I can finally put some focus onto some stories that have been hanging around, languishing. Originally this was meant to be the final chapter to this story, but as I was writing I realized that I could add a little bit more as I felt that the dream that started off this fic hadn't been included as a factor, and it felt rather odd to leave it out even though it started the whole thing. So, with that said, there are still a few more chapters to go for this fic. Hope that you've enjoyed this latest update, and I'll see you next chapter.

Sincerely,

-Crazyeight

* * *

9


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 10

Rika strode down the paths that led to her home, a feeling of uncertainty pervading her heart. As she walked, Renamon phased into view next to her, a quizzical look on her face.

"So…do you mind telling me what brought that on?" she asked her partner, an invisible smile on her muzzle.

"What brought what on?" asked Rika in repost. Her voice was calm and casual, but she knew better. Inside she felt strangely tense…not unlike the way Takato had been earlier, only without the tripping over her words.

Renamon made a small sound that, to Rika, sounded like chuckling. Rika eyed her partner carefully, but the vulpine digimon made no sign that she had done so. Rika narrowed her eyes.

_I know you laughed…_ she thought to herself.

"What you said to Takato," continued Renamon. "I don't know much about the habits of humans in regards to how they 'hang out' with those close to them, but if I'm not mistaken, what you asked of him was very much close to what you'd call…a date, regardless of what you told him."

"You've been talking to grandma again," snorted Rika.

"My apologies. Do you wish that I not continue to do so?"

"I didn't say that," she replied, berating herself for how she must have sounded. "And I don't want you to stop. I'm glad to see that you're getting along with my family. It…makes me feel like you're a closer part of it."

"Rika…" Renamon looked at her partner, feeling a sensation of happiness warm her digital core. Her smile widened for just a moment before she continued. "Thank you, Rika. Yes, I have been talking to Ms. Hata. Due to her experience I feel that some guidance is needed concerning what I observe among humans and how they interact with one another. It also helps me learn more about you as well."

"Really?" asked Rika, raising a surprised eyebrow. "Like what?"

"All kinds of things," replied Renamon succinctly as though that was all that needed to be said on the matter. Rika furrowed her brow, starting to feel a bit worried about what sort of stories her grandmother was telling her partner about her.

"Mmm…_hmmm!"_

Unfortunately for Rika, her dagger-like emphasis for Renamon to elaborate did not conjure the desired effect, and Renamon continued to walk beside her, a smug smile still invisible on her muzzle.

_Ugh. Family and their stories…_

"Look," sighed Rika in annoyance. "I just want to hang out with Gogglehead. It's no big deal, and he and I still have unfinished business anyway. I want to wipe that smarmy grin off his face and show him that the Digimon Queen still rules the card game."

"You haven't called yourself that in a while," observed Renamon.

"I hate that name," Rika admitted. "It's something I used to call myself like it was a trophy I earned."

"You did, didn't you?"

"Well…yeah. I did. But the way I carried it wasn't all that good. Either way, I don't want Takato thinking that he can play in the big leagues just because of one lousy win."

"I see. Then should I be expecting you to invite Ryo as well?"

"Huh?" Rika turned towards her partner, startled by the question.

"Until recently, he has been the only Tamer to have defeated you in a match. You haven't challenged him directly since the D-Reapers defeat."

"Not like he's given me much of a chance," grumbled Rika. "And what's he have to do with this? So he beat me. Big deal. He just got lucky that time."

"As does Takato, in his own way."

With that, Renamon phased out of view before Rika could even say anything in response. Rika frowned at the spot where she had been before continuing on.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" she asked. Deep inside though, she felt that she knew. Her joking with Takato earlier in the dinosaur, warning him against having any 'funny ideas' stood out prominently in her mind. And the days that had preceded their match in the park, starting from the Hanami celebration, never mind her own recent conversation with Jeri prior to Takato's arrival…

_Why did I ask him that?_ she wondered. In light of her conversation with Jeri, a part of her feared the answer.

_That's ridiculous,_ she berated herself. _We're just friends. Nothing more. Nothing less. Ugh. I'm going to have to really grind him into the ground if I'm even having those kinds of thoughts. Stupid Gogglehead and his 'kitsune wedding' line. How stupid is that?_

As Rika continued her way towards home, a small smile grew on her face as she envisioned the number of ways she would crush Takato over the weekend. With the setting sun at her back, things were already starting to look up.

* * *

_Phew…_ breathed Takato as he closed the door behind him with a click. Ahead of him Guilmon bounded into the kitchen, already looking for snacks from Mie and Takehiro.

"I'm home!" Takato called out.

"So I see," chuckled Takehiro, poking his head out of the kitchen. "You're home awfully late. Everything all right, son?"

"Ms. Asagi made me stay after again for not paying attention," admitted Takato, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Like father like son," came the admonishing tone of the boy's mother from the depths of the kitchen.

"Sorry…"

Takehiro grinned nonetheless. "Just one of those days, huh? I noticed that it was pretty nice out. Just make sure that you don't get caught up in that sort of thing too often. The city needs its hero after all."

Takato blinked. "Hey! You know, Ms. Asagi said the same thing to me before I left." Takehiro raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?"

"Well…not the _exact_ same thing, but she called me the cities 'knight in shining armor'." Takato laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed at the memory. Now that he thought about it, it never quite occurred to him that he looked like something out of a storybook. Granted, he _wanted _to be a hero in that way before he became a Tamer, but it always had that distinct feel of a dream that would never come true. When he became a Tamer, he did wonder if he was meant to be a great hero like the Digidestined were depicted as being in the show, but at some point he supposed that when the dream of being a Tamer became reality those thoughts disappeared.

"What can I say?" asked Takehiro. "It's like I told your mom last year. You look pretty good like that. Just don't let it get to your head."

"Somehow I don't think I have to worry too much about that," said Takato, scratching his cheek. "I have enough of a time just keeping my balance."

"Well, even heroes have their weaknesses…not to mention jobs. You've got kitchen duty this evening by the way."

"Uh…right. Um…" Takato paused. "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"This is probably going to sound like a weird question…not to mention embarrassing…"

"Well out with it," urged Takehiro gently. "You know I'm here for when you want to talk."

Takato nodded, feeling a little bit more at ease. "Right. Um…how…how do you know if a girl is…um…_interested_ in you? Like…uh…" Takato coughed, feeling a sliver of red heat slip its way into his cheeks.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Takehiro, grinning.

"Uh…right."

"So Cupid has finally started firing his arrows, huh? Well…if memory serves, your mother first showed interest in me when she hit me over the head with a rolling pin…"

"Takehiro! Don't go filling up his head with false stories now…"

_Why do I get the feeling that I'm the only sane one in this family?_ Takato asked himself.

* * *

Later that evening, Takato lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, his mind deep in thought. Guilmon lay on the floor beneath him, snoring loudly. Takato allowed a small smile to grow on his face at the noise, a part of him grateful that the crimson dinosaur was able to sleep so soundly.

_It's been awfully quiet lately. Ever since the Parasimon incident we haven't had any serious bio-emergences. Come to think of it, I don't think we've had any. I wonder if that means the digital world is doing okay…or if it's just a calm before the storm._

"A Tamers work is never done," he murmured aloud. "That's what Kazu would say at a time like this."

Was that really the case though? Sure, he was a Tamer with his very own digimon. Sure, he and his friends worked alongside Hypnos during those times that visitors from the digital world became violent, which was more often than not unfortunately. Did that mean that was all they were going to be for the rest of their lives? To be honest, he wasn't sure what the future held for him. Henry already had his future planned out, but he didn't. Kai had asked him about it, as did Henry, and he didn't have an answer for either of them. Between the two of them, Kai at least was of the opinion that he was going to take over the bakery once his parents retired, but he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to do.

_Baking bread is fun and everything, but is that what I want in the future? I've always been good at drawing, and with a big enough imagination that it keeps getting me into trouble at school. It's like a curse sometimes…at least that's what Mom tells me. So…what could I do?_

Closing his eyes, he tried to envision what his future self would be like. He fancied himself as working for a manga publishing company, drawing award winning manga, or something along that nature that would inevitably lead to an anime. That had been at the very least a vague dream of his next to being a policeman. It was rather interesting to note, now that he thought about it, that he was closer to the latter rather than the former.

_What would things be like if the digimon hadn't returned?_ He wondered. _I mean, not that I'm not glad that they're back,_ Takato glanced down at the floor, where his partner snored away relentlessly, _but I guess I can't help but wonder. Life would be so…I don't know. Boring? Maybe that's not the right word for it, but I definitely would have to think more about what I'd be doing to make a living, and not just saving the world or anything. I don't think kids my age have to think about this kind of thing? Man, what do kids my age think about? Certainly not saving the world…_

Takato again tried to envision what his life would be like if the digimon were still trapped in the digital world and the portal had not reopened. He imagined that he would have gotten a job eventually, and possibly moved out if he didn't stay on to help his parents with the bakery. From there he would pursue whatever career choice would be within his capabilities, and, inevitably, he supposed, marry someone.

Takato smiled a little as he thought about returning home to Rika and…

Takato's eyes widened in shock, and he bolted upwards.

_Okay…did I seriously just think that? Rika…and…me?! _Groaning, Takato flopped back down on his bed, one arm covering his eyes. _Mom's right. My imagination _can _be a curse. Forget the fact that Rika would just hurt me for even thinking that, there's just no way she would go for it! …Right?_

Takato lowered his arm, thinking back to Rika's request from earlier in the day. Had he really heard her right?

_Maybe I'm just over thinking it. It's been on my mind a lot ever since I got home. But it's kinda weird. She only wants to hang out with me this weekend. Me and no one else. That's…um…'new'. She's been acting pretty strange lately. Well…she's always been pretty strange…_

Takato sighed. _Rika's right. I worry too much about everything. If she were here she'd probably tell me to mind my own business or something like that. But can I help it that I get worried?_

The irony in that thought, Takato felt, was that Rika would tell him that he worried too much about everything, even when they were inconsequential. That was just how he was though. He hated seeing his friends have to deal with problems on their own, or be troubled by something. Why should they when it was far better to be happy? Wasn't that the best thing for everyone involved?

_If only it were that simple._

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh…yeah?" he asked, sitting up in his bed. His door slid open and his father poked his head in.

"Just thought I'd check in on you. It's just about bed time, Takato. Your mom wants you to be up early for school tomorrow. You know how she gets about your late arrivals."

"Uh…right," nodded Takato sheepishly. "Sorry. I'll be sure to do that."

"So…" Takehiro coughed and grinned. "…About what you were asking me earlier today. We didn't have much of a chance to really talk about it when your mother got involved."

"Oh. Well…um…" Takato rubbed the back of his head nervously. "…It's nothing. Really."

"Uh-huh. Didn't sound like nothing. Hanami wasn't all that long ago, and I seem to recall Rika walking you home—which by the way is supposed to be the other way around if you're a gentleman."

"Somehow I don't think Rika would stand for that," mumbled Takato before realizing what he was saying. "Hey! It's nothing like that! We're just…we're just friends!"

Takehiro shrugged, but grinned all the same.

"I said very much the same things about every girl I was close with before I met your mom, and when I met her, I had grown up enough to not be embarrassed by that sort of thing. Well, you've still got some growing to do." Takehiro paused. "Mind if I come in?"

"Uh…sure."

Opening the door, the elder Matsuki stepped inside and closed it behind him. Taking a quick glance around the room, he spied Takato's chair and pulled it over to him. Sitting down he fixed Takato with a comforting smile before he spoke.

"I was about 24 when I first met your mother. By then I was close to graduating college, and your mother had just entered it. She was smart—well, smarter than me, but I've always been attracted to that sort of woman. With her though, it was different. She kept me on my toes, and kept me from slacking off, especially when I was going through some hard times trying to make ends meet. I guess that's why the two of us opened up a bakery together." Takehiro chuckled as he thought back to those bygone days of his youth. "I used to not eat very well. Ramen is good until that's all you're reduced to eating—for months at a time, but that was all I could afford and just about all I knew how to make. My father always used to tell me that men were lost without women. Well…he was right. Mie helped take some of the pressure off by baking some fresh—_better—_food at first, and then teaching me how to do it myself once I had my feet under me a little. I think that was when I really fell for her."

Takato was silent while he digested this bit of information. He hadn't expected his father to talk to him seriously about how he met and fell in love with his mother. As when he returned home had demonstrated, his father had a very joking tone whenever discussing his life. Even when he was serious, he would border on just being bizarre, such as when he just about broke up in regards to the 'Cardboard Box' that Takato first brought Guilmon home in. He never quite understood why his father was like that but it was something that he more or less took in stride. Just another one of those strange, parental quirks. The sudden change in demeanor left him rather speechless.

"So…um…wow." Takato scratched his head, trying to think of something to say. "I guess it's true what they say. The way to a man's heart is through their stomach. I thought that only applied to digimon."

"Not everything is about digimon," chuckled Takehiro. "Though I have to say, you grew up a lot dealing with them." Takehiro glanced over at Guilmon and smiled at the snoozing dinosaur. "This doesn't really answer your question, does it?"

"Huh? My question?"

Takehiro laughed a little. Yes. Takato was _definitely _his son. Absent minded as always, and could promptly forget everything he heard at the slightest change in the subject.

_I used to be a lot like him when I was younger. Mie called it one of my least endearing charms. Makes me wonder why she even bothered putting up with me all these years. She had to hit me over the head just to get my attention…_

"How to tell if a girl is interested in you," Takehiro reminded his son, and Takato's eyes lit up in remembrance.

"Oh…yeah."

"I won't embarrass you by asking who you were talking about," _though I think I can guess who's on your mind, _"but I can tell you that there's no easy way to tell whether or not a girl is interested in you. Just try to use your best judgment, and don't jump to conclusions. You'll look pretty silly if you do."

Takato did not feel in the least bit comforted by his father's advice.

_Somehow I get the feeling that that's going to be tough for me—the not embarrassing myself part. Oh boy. I think that I'm in over my head here…

* * *

_

Takehiro closed the door behind him quietly so as to not disturb Guilmon's rest.

"I was wondering where you had gotten yourself too," came the voice of Mie as she made her way up the stairs. "Honestly, I was starting to worry if you had gotten lost in your own home with how long you were taking looking in on Takato."

"Sorry," apologized Takehiro. "I was just having a chat with him."

"I gathered," Mie nodded. "You were looking rather pleased with yourself. You're only like that when you've either come up with a new recipe or you've done your duty as a father."

"He was just asking relationship advice. He thinks someone might like him."

"Oh?" Mie raised an eyebrow and smirked at her husband. "And you thought you could help him with that? I seem to recall that I had to 'hit you over the head with a rolling pin' just to get your attention."

"I learned from it, didn't I?" asked Takehiro.

"Sometimes I wonder. You still have trouble remembering half of the recipes I taught you—and they're _always_ the most difficult ones. The only one you've done consistently right is the Guilmon bread."

"That's because it was a great idea." With that, Takehiro took his wife into his arms and gently kissed her forehead. "Come on. We can talk more in bed."

"Oh, you…"

* * *

Takato lay in his bed, listening to Guilmon's breathing. In spite of the conversation that he had with his father, the dinosaur had not woken up once, not even at the mention of food, which had often been enough to rouse him against even the most ferocious digimon. Takato smiled.

_At least one of us is going to get some sleep tonight,_ he thought to himself._ I know that I'm not falling asleep anytime soon. Aggghhh!!! _Takato ran his hands through his hair in agitation. _What am I getting so worked up about? It's…it's Rika! I mean, it's not like she really…er…yeah. Anyway. We're only hanging out. I mean, sure, this is the first time where she's invited me and only me to her house—as her friend and not as a fellow Tamer…or an enemy…and she's the first girl to actually invite me over to her house period._

Takato let out a heavy, frustrated sigh and he blinked wearily. He thought about his conversation with his father. Although he had a lot to tell him, things that he hadn't known, none of it really helped him as far as he could tell.

_I'm in a fix. No question about it…_ Takato glanced out his bedroom's window to see the moon as it traced its path across the sky. _…this is going to be a long night…

* * *

_

A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry for the lack of updates lately, it's just that I've been focused on school, and my regular writing has been shifting to more original work. At any rate, I figured that, since today is Valentine's Day I'd continue my tradition of writing something with romance tones for the month of February. Hope that this chapter was worth the wait and your while. 'Till next chapter. :)

-Crazyeight

* * *

6


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The Dreamer

Chapter: 11

"Duuude…" Kazu waved one hand in front of Takato's face, causing him to jump in his seat in surprise.

"Wha…! Kazu!"

"You okay, Chumley?" asked Kazu, giving his friend a quizzical look. "You looked like you were lost ever since you woke up—not that that's anything new, but you looked even _more_ lost. If that's possible."

"Uh…I'm just…" Takato nervously gulped and scratched his cheek. "…tired?"

Kazu furrowed his brow at him, obviously not believing a single word he just said.

"Right, chumley. And Kenta won the grand championship title from Ryo. Seriously, what's up? I had to call your name three times to get your attention. Usually when you're in la-la land I only have to do it twice."

"Um…it's nothing…really," Takato placated. Kazu did not look convinced, but conceded him his right to privacy.

"All right. If you say so. Hey. You going to be in the park today?"

"Yeah," Takato nodded. I'll be there."

Kazu smirked. "I'll hold you to it. Just make sure that you're not too deep in your brain when Ms. Asagi calls on you, otherwise you're going to stay after school again."

"I'll be sure to remember that," Takato muttered in response, his spirits rapidly deflating. Glancing up at the clock, his crimson eyes perked up in surprise. "Lunch time already?"

"What do you think I was trying to get your attention for?" asked Kazu. "C'mon. Let's grab some grub…unless you want to be stuck waiting in line…"

Takato laughed a little as he got up from his seat. As they headed towards the door, Jeri Katou passed by them, making her way back from the girls bathroom.

"Oh! Hey, Takato. Kazu finally got you to wake up, I see."

The brown haired girl giggled at him, setting off a small firestorm in his cheeks. Slinging an arm over Takato's shoulder, the visor-wearing Tamer proceeded to steer his friend towards the cafeteria.

"Easy there, Chumley. I know you like her and everything, but if you're not careful you'll end up embarrassing yourself. You always do after all…"

"I—wha…? Hey!" Takato sputtered, trying to fight down the blush that burned upon his cheeks.

"Admit it, Chumley. When it comes to girls, you can't go two steps without tripping over your feet."

"Like you can do better?"

"Ayaka!" exclaimed Jeri in surprise as the coppery haired, pig-tailed girl fell into step beside them.

"I was waiting for you to finish washing up so that we could go down to the cafeteria together."

"Sorry," apologized Jeri. "I wanted to be with Takato and…um…" Jeri looked down at the floor, her amber-colored eyes fidgeting a little in agitation and embarrassment. Ayaka raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"Remind me again what it is you see in him, again?"

"Uh…you girls do know that we're standing right here, don't you?" asked Kazu, his arm still slung over a speechless Takato's shoulder. "You know…like…_listening?"_

"And who said that you could eavesdrop on a girl's private conversation?" shot back Ayaka.

"Do I even _have_ to answer that? I mean, you're walking next to us! 'Course, with the way you yell, sometimes I think the whole world could hear you…"

"C-C'mon you guys," interceded Takato, wanting to avoid an argument between his two classmates. "There's no reason to argue. Can't you just cool it?"

Ayaka muttered something under her breath as Kazu eyed her warily before finally nodding in agreement. Smiling, Jeri turned to her pigtailed friend.

"What's that look for?" asked Ayaka pointedly.

"Nothing. Well, except that Takato just answered your question."

"Say wha…?" this from Ayaka, Takato, and Kazu, all at once as they all looked at her in confusion. Jeri ignored them, instead contenting herself with walking on ahead towards the cafeteria, humming happily to herself.

"Um…" began Takato carefully as he watched the girl move away from them. "What do you think she meant by that?"

"Don't look at me, chumley," said Kazu. "I don't understand girls."

Takato glanced over at Ayaka to see if she could be any help. Ayaka merely shrugged.

"Sometimes _I _don't understand her," she said simply.

* * *

"So what's got Ayaka in such a bad mood?" asked Kazu in-between mouthfuls of his sandwich. Jeri shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm a little concerned about it.

"You don't exactly get along very well with people, Kazu," said Takato. Kazu snorted.

"You mean I don't get along with _girls_. Not my fault if they can't handle my personality. I tell ya, all that advice that adults give about 'just being yourself'…it's not as cracked up as they say it is. I'm myself all the time. But…well, then again, at least this way I know who my real friends are. You guys accept me for who I am."

"Unfortunately," chuckled Takato, prompting Kazu to give him a glare.

"Ah well. I sure hope Kenta comes back soon so that he can take the load off me. His partner goes a long way towards keeping Ayaka from thinking bad thoughts about me and getting on my case. I never thought that having a partner like that would be useful like that. It's like bug repellent, only better because it makes sure that Kenta is likely to have a girlfriend by the time he graduates from high school."

"Wouldn't that make it more like an insect attractor?" asked Takato.

"If it keeps Ayaka from getting angry at me, I don't care what you call it." Kazu groaned. "Hurry back, Kenta! Ayaka's killing me today. That and I need someone to get test answers from…"

"He sits on the other side of the room Kazu. You know, right behind Ayaka."

"As long as Guardromon's by my side, I'll take the risk."

"I'm not sure that you really get what I'm saying…"

"Well, maybe things will be better tomorrow," said Jeri. "Ms. Asagi said that Kenta came down with a cold. Maybe he got caught in that rainstorm yesterday."

Takato nodded. "Yeah. Guilmon and I had to wait it out at the playground before heading home. Rika too."

"So she finally got around to challenging you for a rematch? Oh, man…I wanted to see that… Chumley…why'd you have to have detention yesterday?"

"Actually Kazu…we didn't."

Kazu gave Takato a disbelieving look.

"Did anyone tell you how badly you stink at jokes?"

"You do all the time," Takato sighed. "But I'm telling you the truth. We didn't do anything. We just…I don't know. Talked, I guess."

"Really?" asked Jeri, sipping at her drink. "About what?"

"Well actually, I tried to talk," admitted Takato, "but she didn't want to."

"That's nothing new," said Kazu, waving him off. "No offense, you guys, but Rika's not exactly a 'people person'. When we were in the digital world, she spent half the time blowing me and Kenta off. And yelling at us. She kicked me once while I was sleeping and…" Kazu paused and his face knotted into an expression of disgust. "…Erm…yeah. She kicked me. …I'm going to go back to repressing that."

"Huh?"

"Forget about it."

Shrugging off his comment, Jeri looked over at Takato with a curious gaze. She thought about her conversation with Rika from yesterday, finding it interesting to note that she had stayed long enough for the rainstorm to hit, which, if she remembered correctly, was around the time that Takato had been let out of detention.

_Hmmm…_

"Oh, yeah," said Takato, turning to Jeri. "Um... Sorry about yesterday, Jeri."

Jeri blinked. "About what?"

"About being made to stay after school. You said that you wanted to talk to me about something."

Jeri nodded, a little taken aback. She forgot that she had wanted to talk to him yesterday, but she had had so much on her mind after her talk with Rika that it completely slipped her mind.

"It's all right," she replied, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "I had to go home early anyway, so we wouldn't have been able to talk for very long."

"Maybe if chumley here can stay out of trouble you won't have to wait as long," muttered Kazu sarcastically between mouthfuls.

"Well how about after school today?" asked Takato, ignoring his friends comments. Jeri thought about it for a moment before smiling and shaking her head.

"It's okay. It wasn't anything important."

"Oh." Takato looked a little crestfallen. "Okay."

"I'll be right back," Jeri said as she finished eating her lunch. Getting up she left her two friends to return her lunch tray to the cafeteria. Takato watched her go for a second before breathing a heavy, dejected sigh. Kazu leaned back in his chair and placed his arms behind his head, eying his friend thoughtfully.

"This is what you get for getting out of the club, buddy."

"Say wha…?"

"Remember last year?" asked Kazu, chuckling a little. "When you said that you 'needed a girl'? You were out of the club."

"I didn't mean it like that," replied Takato, frowning a little.

"I know. You needed to meet with Rika because you had just become a Tamer, right? Don't really know why since from what you told me she had been trying to load Guilmon then…"

"I didn't know who she was then. The first time I saw her was…er…never mind." Takato groaned. "Man, is it just me or is there something weird going on with every girl I know?"

"I dunno. They're all nuttier than grapefruit, chumley." Kazu glanced at his friend as he rolled Takato's comment around in his head. "Something up?"

Takato stirred his fork around in his ramen.

"I don't know how to answer that. I don't know if I _should._ It's just…I don't know. Ever since Hanami, both Rika and Jeri have been acting funny. Maybe I'm just thinking about it too hard, but I can't seem to get it out of my mind."

"Kind of like how I stepped on a thumb tack barefoot once," nodded Kazu in understanding. "It's always there. Gotta hand it to ya, a lot of things after Hanami just seemed weird—heck, even _during_ it. Rika getting into our Frisbee game…I can't remember the last time she joined in on anything we were doing that didn't involve taming or cards." Kazu grinned. "I still remember when Rika was holding your hand after she tackled you."

"K-Kazu! She wasn't…!"

"That's not how it looked to us, chumley. Didn't Terriermon call you a lady killer or something?"

_"Kazu!"_

"Take it easy there, bud. I'm just messing with you. There's no way that Rika would have a thing for you…even if she held your hand and you happen to like her singing…"

Takato's eyes shot wide open at that, taken off guard by the admission. It took Kazu a second to realize what he just said and he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that I wasn't supposed to mention that. Guess that my bribe to Guilmon was pretty much wasted."

"Wha…? _Guilmon?!"_

"Uh…whoops. Forgot that I wasn't supposed to say that either…"

"Ohhh…_man!"_ Takato hid his face in his hands. "I _told_ Guilmon not to tell anyone that!"

"Why the big secret?" asked Kazu. "She's not bad at it, is she? Guilmon said that she had a nice voice, but this is Guilmon we're talking about…"

"No! It's not that! She has a nice voice! It's just…well…how can I put it? It's something that's private for her. I only found out by accident. It's not my place to tell!"

"I think I get it. It's like Kenta's poster of Kari from 02, right? Come to think of it, we promised that we wouldn't even talk about it…"

"…Right, Kazu," replied Takato in a deadpan tone, grateful that his friend understood his position at least this much. "Look. You can't tell anyone about that. If she finds out that you know…"

"She'll pound you into the next stone age?"

Takato leaned his head into one hand, feeling a bubble of worry in the pit of his stomach. The memory of their last moment together at Hanami, where she had sung him her song at the park, came to mind. It had been a moment that felt special to him in ways that he couldn't describe, and it was perhaps the one thing that he felt he wouldn't share with anyone. It had been a moment between the two of them only, and no one else. A moment when Rika dropped her guard for a friend. It reminded him of all those times he had seen Rika smile or heard her laugh. It was something special that was meant to be treasured and treated with the respect it was due.

"Somehow…I get the feeling that her hurting me would be the least of my worries. I might even lose her friendship."

Kazu raised an eyebrow at that, surprised.

"It's that serious?"

"Pretty sure," replied Takato.

"Man…I'm going to have to get a hold of Kenta and fill him in. He might blab. He can't keep a secret to save his life you know."

Takato breathed a sigh of relief, though worry still nibbled at his insides. "Thanks Kazu."

* * *

5


End file.
